Jaguar will use the Detroit auto show in January 2009 to launch two high-performance flagships: the XFR and a revamped XKR. Both will come with a new 510-hp, 500-lb-ft, supercharged V-8. To get there, the engine has gained direct gasoline injection and a capacity hike to from 4.2L to 5.0L.
Click Here For More Jaguar’s XFR And XKR Images
In design terms, the XFR will have the more noticeable changes. For both cars, the principal sheetmetal change is a set of large vents in the hoods to keep engine and intercooler temperatures down. But front and rear facias change considerably on the XK and XF and further aid in cooling. There will also be bigger tailpipes. Wheels, brakes and chassis settings will be amended to suit, but the overall tread is unchanged.
It also reportedly gets the new direct-injection drivetrain and may also get a diesel version for the U.S. market. Jaguar has a capable twin-turbo 2.7L V-6 diesel that will shortly be upgraded to 3.0L and which should push numbers in neighborhood of 250 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque.
In the longer run, Jaguar management says it wants to grow overall numbers gradually, and to do so means remaining a company with “more than three models.” So the X-Type, no longer on sale in the U.S. but still offered in Europe, will likely be replaced.
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