I'm staging my first run up a sparsely traversed two-lane, and I'm soaking with sweat thanks to the 102-degree heat in the 16-way adjustable bucket of a true British bomber -- the supercharged, 550-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive 2012 Jaguar XKR-S, to be precise. It's Jaguar's quickest, most powerful, aggressively clad two-door since the ultra-limited XJ220, and I'm preparing to drive it as if I were Sir Jackie Stewart himself.
"Just don't fly off that cliff," video producer Mike Wilson quips over the Motorola radio, pointing off into the distance as he reaches for another camera mount. "Everything is almost set. Get ready..."
At "get ready," my right foot depresses the super Jag's skinny pedal, immediately beckoning a monstrous Mustang-GT500-meets-Ferrari-458 burbling, popping, and crackling war cry from the blown 5.0-liter V-8. It literally echoes for miles through the deep bushed-lined gullies. My other foot pressurizes the pistons clamping hard on the discs. First gear engages and the cowl shakes as the revs reach their maximum 7000 rpm. This cat hates to sit and purr.
"Just give me the go-ahead," I yell into the crackling walkie-talkie.
XKR-S chief engineer Mike Cross and his team were assigned the task of creating an XK coupe with the goal of sticking hard to the tarmac and inducing slack jaws. Their efforts produced a two-ton cat sporting spring rates 28-percent stiffer at the front and 32-percent at the rear, along with a new front steering knuckle designed to beef up camber and caster stiffness. Its 20-inch forged Vulcan wheels shave several pounds of unsprung weight. A number of software recalibrations were implemented as well, including revised Dynamic Stability Control and Active Differential Control systems. The modifications were designed to reduce tire slippage and torque distribution thresholds, making for a more organic drive experience designed to better suit a conveyance as potent as the XKR-S.
Slapping R-S to its trunk also meant adding some racing-inspired flair to Ian Callum's resilient design. The long, elegant nose gained twin nacelles and a carbon-fiber splitter for a teenager-in-headgear look. The subtly buffed-out sills were devised to accentuate the 0.4-inch-lower ride and giant wheels. Its sculpted carbon-fiber diffuser and massive one-piece trunk wing further emphasize the wannabe-racer ensemble. But for all of their Speed Racer-ness, each aerodynamic piece was created via a complex Computational Fluid Dynamics process that reduced lift by an astounding 26-percent versus the standard XK while traveling at its 186 mph top end.
Jaguar's third-generation, all-aluminum, four-cam AJ-V8 with a twin-vortex Roots-type supercharger now uses a reworked fuel map and less restrictive Performance Active Exhaust to boost torque to 502 lb-ft at 2500 rpm, or 41 more lb-ft than the XKR. Variable valve timing and spray-guided direct injection were left largely alone for R-S duty. Thanks to the supercharger's updated twin intercoolers, the finalized unit ended up being 20-percent more efficient than older iterations, making it duly ready to handle the rigors of the circuit, or in my case, the heat of the desert.
"Time to shine. Give me a few runs up and back," Wilson squawks over the walkie-talkie.
The XKR-S's 295/30R-20 Pirelli PZeros immediately spin into a plume of rubber particulate as my left foot rises. Grip finally arrives after a few long seconds. On three occasions, the tachometer's needle meets the engine's 7000-rpm redline, and each time I fan the six-speed automatic's right paddle backward for a near instantaneous upshift. It takes just 4.2 seconds to see 60 mph flash on the digital speedometer, and if I had enough road I'd see a quarter-mile fly by in 12.5 seconds at 118.1 mph.
Switching directions in a 4000-pound car at ten-tenths can be wrought with uncertainty, anxiety, and insanity. But in the XKR-S, things are different -- that is, when all computer nannies are set to their most liberal TRAC DSC setting. (Turn them completely off and you'd be hard-pressed not to spin.) Just a day prior, the R-S posted a 0.96 g average on our skidpad and nipped at the heels of the Ford Mustang Boss Laguna Seca (24.6 seconds at an average 0.81 g) and Porsche Cayman R (24.5 seconds at an average 0.82 g) with a figure-eight time of 24.7 seconds at an average stick of 0.81 g. This is the stickiest Jaguar we've ever tested.
Atop these Southern California mountain crests, the long Jag doesn't disappoint and dances as if it were 1500 pounds lighter and 2 feet shorter; it jinks left and right on tight passes with surprising agility, flatness, and surefootedness. Tilting the mill returns a direct feel that's uncommon for grand tourer that, prior to this edition, was content with carting rich retirees in style.
Letting 500-plus corralled horses run free for mere seconds has me consistently leaning hard into the XKR-S's potent 15-inch stoppers. They quell speed exceedingly well -- from 60 mph they take just 106 feet to haul the car to a standstill. But seven runs into the shoot, the triple-digit heat has the giant units gradually fading and the transmission's digital temperature gauge flashing "OVERHEAT" with each blipped downshift.
Three hours, a handful of breaks, and six runs later, the shoot wraps. As I enter L.A.'s stop-and-go gridlock, my eyes and hands pay attention to the car's interior, which is swathed in intricately crafted black leather and contrasting blue stitching. Although appealing to many when applied to its sheetmetal (particularly to passing female drivers), the French Racing Blue inside the cabin can't help but feel like an odd West Coast Customs aftermarket creation. And although better than before, the media interface's menus continue to operate slowly.
It is easy to understand why the XKR-S should be extremely popular with Jaguar fans. They can boast for years about its uncharacteristic speed and lithe cornering abilities. The XKR-S may not beat a Porsche 911 Turbo, Nissan GT-R, or Cadillac CTS-V Coupe in a circuit scrum -- and that's alright. When it comes to rarity, bombshell looks, and a truly earth-shaking voice, this cat's got them all beat.
