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Star cars: Jaguar XKR-S
2012-01-12 16:28
What:
Jaguar XKR-S convertible
When:
available now
Price: £103,000
in the UK
Marking a new pinnacle of design engineering, Jaguar have taken the covers off the latest in the luxury XK range.
However your new car measures up in terms of speed, power or handling, you're unlikely to find a more exciting newcomer than this supercharged convertible GT. With its 5 litre, 550 horsepower engine, this soft-top followup to the XKR-S coupe can achieve a top speed of 185mph, and runs from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds.
As can be expected for a car in its class, the two-door convertible is beautifully constructed, with an aerodynamic design and a dramatic and bold appearance to the front of this model. The electronically-operated folding roof magically switches the car into Riviera top-down mode in under twenty seconds, while the sportscar-style leather-trimmed seats are adjustable to 16 positions.
The car's six-speed gearbox makes it 8% more powerful than its predecessor, the XKR; and for those who enjoy a sporty feel, there's a new rear wing to improve downforce as well as a specially-tuned exhaust system to give the impression of a really throaty racetrack roar, while on the inside, acoustic balancing reduces noise throughout the cabin.
Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar Global Brand Director, says the new XKR-S Convertible represents the pinnacle of performance and glamour in motoring: 'There is nothing as liberating,' he insists, 'as life behind the wheel of an open-topped Jaguar, and the new XKR-S convertible takes the GT experience to new heights.' And looking at this latest Jag, it's hard to imagine anyone disagreeing.
The car, which debuted in America in November, was priced at just under $140,000. All cars in the US were sold in advance of the car's debut. 100 have been manufactured for the UK market, priced at £103,000, while French models start at €142,800. Please visit www.jaguar.com for further details.