There’s something about the Jaguar that still makes the heart pound with excitement. From its early years as the Swallow, in the 1920s, to its days of domination on the tracks of Europe as a Jaguar in the 1950s, through its highway presence today, as a division of Ford Motor Company (which acquired the Coventry-based motorcar maker in 1989), the Jaguar has embodied the sleek powerful feline after which it is named.
I test drove the 2008 Jaguar XK Coupe and found that it is a head-turner filled with luxury, style and power. It is dynamic, agile, classy and classic, from its liquid exterior lines and 420 supercharged horses under the bonnet (hood), to its wood, leather and aluminum accents in the cabin that is filled with electronic toys.
The Jaguar XKR Coupe is a luxury vehicle that combines a sports car personality with English lavishness, giving the driver and passengers a brawny, yet smooth, quiet ride, creature comforts and 21st century electronics.
Architecturally, the ’08 XKR is a marvel in aluminum. All-aluminum construction assists best-in-class torsional rigidity. My test model weighed in at a solid and stable 3650 pounds, yet that represents a 10 percent drop in weight over the previous model. The XKR is a sensuous and fluid 188.6 inches long, 81.5 inches wide and a road-hugging 52 inches high, with a ground clearance of 4.7 inches. This serves to provide a wind-resistant, pavement-contoured driving experience from its criss-cross front grille to its athletic, sloping rear and four muscular exhaust pipes that egress out the Cat’s fully active exhaust system.
But this Cat is endowed with substance as well as style, as evidenced by its throaty 420hp, 4.2-liter V-8 power plant. The supercharged and intercooled engine thunders out 413 lbs.-ft. of torque and works in concert with a six-speed automatic transmission assisted by a sequential shift and paddles.
On the track, my graceful and sexy, front-engined rear-wheel-drive test Cat, tuned as one you would drive one right off the car lot, blazed down the quarter-mile in supercharged fashion, in 13.5 seconds, moving into triple digits. My zero-to-60mph times were in the low 5s.
Speed-sensitive steering and the computer active tech suspension, appropriately initialed (CATS), provide a responsive, solid, stable, tight ride. Automatically downshifting into the corners, the Jag hugs and holds, and then a gentle push on the pedal accelerates the XKR confidently into the straights.
In the cabin, the Jaguar offers comfort, opulence and entertainment. My Frost Blue Cat was mated to an Ivory Slate interior that was appointed tastefully in wood, leather and aluminum, with all the gadgetry one has come to expect inside luxury cars.
Intuitive controls and user-friendly touch-screen for the radio and navigation system, redundant devices on the steering wheel and easy-to-read instrumentation make for a stimulating ride for driver and passengers.
The quietness and absence of road noise – even drowning out the sweet, purring engine and supercharger – has become a Jaguar lynchpin. There is plenty of room up front: 37 inches of headroom; 43 inches of leg room and 55.2 inches of shoulder room. But space in the back seat is scarce, at 33.3 inches of headroom, a knee-scrunching 23.1 inches of leg room and 51.5 inches of shoulder room.
Some of the interior toys and richness include Burl Walnut wood veneer trim, driver Information center with a large seven-inch center-console touch-screen, DVD-based touch-screen satellite navigation system, dual-zone automatic climate control with air filtration, heated 10-way power driver and front passenger seats with memory, reverse park control and Bluetooth® wireless technology for mobile phones.
Jaguar safety is assured via an assortment of on-board items including intelligent driver front airbag which senses seating position, passenger front airbags, front-seat head and thorax side airbags, front seat whiplash reduction system and adaptive restraint technology. Dynamic stability control, keyless entry and start and tire pressure monitoring are additional safety features, while four-channel anti-lock braking system with emergency brake assist and performance disc brakes ensure excellent stopping power.
Adaptive cruise control uses microwave radar technology to monitor the road ahead and automatically reduces speed if traffic conditions make it necessary. The system can reduce power, and will use ABS braking for immediate slowing if another car pulls sharply into your path. The system also back your Cat off the car ahead if you are gaining on it, or if you are getting too close.
A suggested retail price of $86,035 for the base vehicle was enhanced in my test vehicle by 20-inch Senta wheels ($5000); a luxury aluminum weave package ($2500) that includes 16-way power seats with adjustable bolsters, soft-grain leather interior, heated leather steering wheel, leather gearshift knob, power-fold exterior mirrors and aluminum veneer trim; the premium Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound package ($1875) that includes an eight-speaker, 525-watt Alpine Premium system and SIRIUS Satellite Radio (subscription sold separately), and the advanced technology package ($2450) which includes adaptive cruise control and front park controls. The added cost of transportation charges ($665), pushed the sticker price to $98,525.
Even at close to $100,000, this is some slick Cat.
Visit www.CarlisleEvents.com for more on the automotive hobby.
Mike Blake, former editor of KIT CAR magazine, joined Carlisle Events as senior automotive journalist in 2004. He's been a "car guy" since the 1960s and has been writing professionally for about 30 years.
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