Jaguar XFR adds kick to cat

Sales of the British brand have jumped by eight per cent since the all- new, mid-sized XF arrived in 2008 and now it is going to get its own boost.

The kick comes from the supercharged 5-litre V8 engine in the flagship XFR which was unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show ahead of local sales in the second half of the year.

The XF is the latest Cat to get the R-car treatment and the pattern is predictable and positive: a major engine upgrade, body bits, bigger wheels and brakes, and some mild tweaking in the cabin.

The R-car work has already done the job for Jaguar's XK sports cars and the flagship XJ and the company is expecting a solid response in Australia.

"One of the problems we've had in the past is under-calling the demand for the R models. With the XK, around 65 to 70 per cent of demand is for the R," says David Blackall, the managing director of Jaguar Land Rover Australia.

"So the R cars have done well in Australia. People tend to gravitate to the best, particularly when they are paying for a Jaguar."

The starting price for an XF in Australia is now $108,350 with a V6 engine, but jumping all the way to the XFR is going to mean close to double the price. And that is likely to keep the car exclusive.

"The car is probably going to be around $200,00 and we reckon if we can do 25 it will be a good result," says Blackall.

"In Normal times I would like to sell 50, so with the market the way it is hope to do 25 to the end of the year. In any case, we want to keep it as exclusive as we can."

Blackall is also concerned to keep demand for the XF SV8, which comes with a 4.2-litre V8 at $173,170, moving along until the R-car hits.

"A lot of this is going to depend on how quickly we can get the XFR.

We've still got some SV8s, although not too many now.

"We are targeting around the middle of the year for the R."

The XFR was shown in Detroit with trendy white bodywork, which does not look nearly as tough as the jet-black colour normally used for Jaguar's hero cars.

But there was a matt-black XFR on the back of the stand which had just returned from a record run on the Bonneville salt-flats in the USA, where it was clocked at 363km/h to become the fastest car in the company's history. Of course, it had some tweaking . . .

The production XFR has 375 kiloWatts from its supercharged and direct- injection V8, as well as 624 Newton-metres of torque. If the numbers sound a little familiar, they match the output of the V10-powered BMW M5.

Power is fed to the rear end through a six-speed automatic gearbox with a new active differential, with the car's electronic controls including a 'drift' setting for a little rear-end slide.

Body changes run from the predictable front air dam and rear spoiler to the R cars' signature chrome mesh grille, with extra bonnet vents to cool the engine.

The XFR has been dropped 27 millimetres lower than the SV8 with Bilstein suspension, upgraded brakes and four exhaust tips under the tail.

Inside, the seats have more side support, there is upgraded trim and some R-car logos, as well as the acoustic laminated windscreen and upgraded satnav common to the latest XF range.

The bottom line on the go-faster XF is a car that has 23 per cent more power and 12 per cent more torque than its 4.2-litre V8 predecessor.

That means it jumps to 100km/h in just 4.7 seconds and has to be held back to a top speed of 250km/h.

But Jaguar's good news for '09 does not end with the XFR because the company is also into the countdown for its all-new luxury XJ model.

It is expected to be previewed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in October with deliveries in Australia from early in 2010.

But Blackall is not giving anything away.

"The car is on track. There will be northern hemisphere announcements at the right time," he says.

"Given the state of the world, the quicker we can get it into showrooms the better for Jaguar."