Here it is: the return of the hottest big Jaguar. And this XJR is the most powerful yet. The latest incarnation of the luxury super-saloon comes during a purple patch for Jaguar's performance models: the XFR remains one of the best supersaloons around, the Jaguar F-Type is gaining plaudits and the recent XKR-S GT represents more than a simple test bed for new developments.
The XJR's figures are certainly impressive: 542bhp and 502lb ft, which is 39bhp and 42lb ft up on the Jaguar XJ Supersport with which it shares its engine. The all-aluminium, quad-cam 5.0-litre V8 features the same Rootes-type, twin vortex supercharger as the Supersport, but has specific electronic engine calibration and a new exhaust system. Jaguar claims 0-60mph in 4.4sec, 50-75mph in 2.46sec and a top speed limited to 174mph.
Those numbers aren't wildly in excess of the Supersport, but the XJR pulls more strongly from 3000rpm, and where the lesser motor's torque curve plateaus, the R's continues to rise. The result is a marginally more linear power delivery and sharper in-gear acceleration.
Jaguar has tuned the exhaust and intake to be refined at a cruise but emit a rich, deep rumble under load. There's an oddly tappety sound from outside the car as it accelerates, but from the inside you hear a bassline of the old school.
There's plenty of urge on tap, and it makes for a devastatingly effective point-and-squirt overtaker, helped in part by the sharp-shifting eight-speed automatic gearbox from ZF.
