Jaguar XKR Coupe

Jaguar XKR at a glance: body, engines and plant

The XKR belongs to the XK family in our Jaguar catalogue. Its bonded aluminium construction was shared with the Jaguar XJ, and the name goes back to the XK120 of 1948.

From the 2005 launch to the Final Fifty

The X150 coupé appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005, and the convertible at the Detroit show in January 2006. Ian Callum, who had also designed the Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish, shaped the car. It was 162.6 mm longer and 61 mm wider than the X100 XK, yet lighter thanks to its aluminium body. In 2006 Top Gear named it both GT of the Year and Car of the Year.

The 2009 facelift was the big change. The new AJ-V8 Gen III engines arrived, and a rotary JaguarDrive selector replaced the gear lever. In February 2010 Jaguar announced the Speed Pack and Black Pack, and in March 2011 the XKR-S appeared at the Geneva show. The last regular XK run was the Final Fifty for the United States in 2014, and production ended in July 2014 after 27,612 cars.

Engines, transmissions and performance

Figures are for the coupé; the convertible is about 0.1 s slower. For the 2011 XKR-S, Wikipedia gives both 4.0 s and 4.4 s to 100 km/h; the table uses the 4.4 s from its text. Jaguar's 2010 press release explains the 5.0 supercharged engine: direct injection at up to 150 bar, compression raised from 9.1:1 to 9.5:1, and an oil-change interval stretched from 10,000 to 15,000 miles (about 24,000 km) or 12 months. The 4.2 cars used a six-speed ZF 6HP26 automatic and the 5.0 cars the six-speed 6HP28, which Motor1 describes with paddle shifters.

Chassis and technology: Active Differential and adaptive dampers

The 5.0 XKR introduced an electronically controlled rear differential, Active Differential Control, which shifts drive between the rear wheels instead of braking a spinning wheel. Adaptive Dynamics dampers replaced the earlier two-stage CATS system with continuously variable damping. The Portfolio of 2008 had 400 mm front and 350 mm rear brake discs, 20-inch BBS wheels and a 525 W Bowers & Wilkins sound system. The 2013 XKR-S GT added carbon-ceramic brakes.

Dimensions, weight and fuel economy

Motor1 Germany's 2009 test of the XKR convertible reported about 13 l/100 km on country roads, with roughly twice that when driven hard. To set these figures against other grand tourers, use the car comparison tool.

Trims and special editions

Beyond the standard XKR, Jaguar used limited editions to keep the car fresh:

• XKR Portfolio (2008 model year): bigger brakes, BBS wheels, B&W audio.
• XKR-S 4.2 (2008): 200 cars, 50 of them with right-hand drive for the UK.
• XKR 75 (2010): 75 cars, 20 with right-hand drive, 390 kW (530 PS).
• XKR 175 (2010): 175 cars for the United States and 15 for Canada.
• XKR Special Edition (2011 model year): Speed Pack plus Black Pack, revealed at Geneva in March 2010.
• XKR-S GT (2013): track-focused coupé with carbon-ceramic brakes, deliveries in the UK from October 2013.
• Final Fifty (2014): 25 coupés and 25 convertibles for the US market.

In Germany in 2009 Motor1 listed the XKR coupé at €103,900 and the convertible at €112,100.

Reliability, recalls and common problems

The Drives Today buying guide lists the usual weak points. On the 4.2 XKR, check the coolant "valley pipe" under the supercharger, the thermostat and the vacuum hoses. On the 5.0, look for water-pump failure, timing-chain noise and supercharger noise, which Jaguar addressed with a revised nose section. The e-diff can show an "E-Diff system error", sometimes cured by cleaning corroded connectors. Steel subframes rust along the seams, and suspension bushes wear.

Australian recalls covered side-airbag control modules on left-hand-drive cars built 2005–2009 (May 2008), the fuel pump of some naturally aspirated 5.0 XKs (August 2010), power-steering pipes on 2010 model-year cars (March 2011) and rear toe links on 2013 XKR-S cars used on track (April 2014). Check that the recall work has been done.

Rivals and which XKR to buy

Contemporary rivals included the Aston Martin DB9 and the Bentley Continental GT of 2011–2018. All three are front-engined 2+2 grand tourers; the Jaguar is the only one with a supercharged V8, and the Bentley the only one with four-wheel drive.

Verdict: the 5.0 XKR from 2009 is the best all-rounder, with more power, the JaguarDrive selector, the active differential and adaptive dampers. Early 4.2 XKRs are the cheapest way in, but check the cooling system first. The XKR-S, XKR 75 and XKR-S GT are collector cars and are priced as such.

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