Jaguar World Magazine S-Type Buyers Guide April 08 Back Issue

It was in this column way back in the January
2006 issue that I speculated about the
possibility of Jaguar introducing low-volume,
exclusive, high-performance versions of its
current range.
In short, I was all for it, my reasoning being that if
the success of Mercedes’ AMG and BMW’s Alpina
versions were considered, then there would be no
shortage of Jaguar buyers willing to pay for greater
exclusivity and performance than was offered by the
marque’s already blisteringly quick ‘R’ models. After
all, JaguarSport once did a healthy business.
At that time the US had already received the
first incarnation of the X350 XJ ‘Portfolio’, and in the
two years that have passed since then the exclusivity
angle of my original argument has been addressed
by further XJ Portfolio models. Last year the XKR
Portfolio also debuted, and the two latest additions
to the Portfolio range – though not for the UK
market – have just been announced in
Geneva…where Jaguar also unveiled the 174mph
XKR-S (see page six).
Now, whereas the Portfolio models offer
heightened luxury and limited numbers, but no more
‘go’, the XKR-S is a machine that tackles both
exclusivity and performance facets at once. The
XKR-S is the fastest production Jaguar since the
XJ220, and only 200 will be made. Courtesy of
revised suspension settings, huge brakes and quicker
steering – not to mention some attractive, but
effective, aerodynamic tweaks – it is billed to deliver
‘…the Jaguar enthusiast with an even more driverfocused
high speed performance experience.’ It
should be quite a machine. But could a version that
offered less be even better? Bear with me here, let’s
look at a few facts.