LITTLE more than a year after introducing the XF range with the SV8 as its flagship, Jaguar gets serious about a mid-range rival to the Mercedes E63 AMG and BMW M5. The new XFR performance leader warrants the ‘R’ badge, thanks to a new supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine that owes nothing to the previous 4.2-litre unit and ups the performance quota significantly while still matching the previous model’s fuel consumption and emissions levels. Though the price has gone up $35,000 to $208,450, the XFR is still much cheaper than its German super-saloon rivals.

Jaguar S-Type R
Released: July 2002
Ended: January 2008
Family Tree: XFJAGUAR’S long-overdue replacement for the S-Type arrived in Australia in May 2008 with the flagship being the SV8, which was powered by the 4.2-litre supercharged V8 also seen in the XKR sportscar and a couple of Range Rover models. The engine developed 306kW at 6250rpm and 560Nm at 5000rpm, pushing the SV8 from 0-100km/h in 5.4 seconds, but this was really only a fill-in performance model and consequently was not adorned with the ‘R’ badge.
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