Jaguar XKR-S: Geneva reveal +video

Jaguar XKR-S revealed in Geneva

The Jaguar XKR-S is Jaguar’s fastest series production car, and is as sure a sign as you can get of the potential Jaguar has. And, perhaps more importantly,  the confidence Jaguar has in its ability to deliver on its promise, and to push the boundaries.

Jaguar purists will complain that the XKR-S is too shouty, too loud, not quite Jaguar. But they’d be wrong. The XKR-S is everything Jaguar should be in this new era: confident, assertive, daring and able to show the world it can compete with the best.

The joy of the Jaguar of 2011 is that it is still able to cater for its traditional customer base – well, perhaps with the exception of the absolutely dyed-in-the-wool reactionaries – with the range of options the buyer can dip in to to make their Jaguar their own.

You can opt for Gentleman’s club interior with fine veneers and supple leather or you can funk things up with carbon fibre. The choice is the buyer’s, and what lies at the heart of all the Jaguar range now is a car as good as any competitor.

So the shouty, 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds, 300kph Smurf on Steroids sat on the Jaguar stand in Geneva is a glorious tribute to Jaguar’s Phoenix-like rise from the ashes of Ford’s empty pockets, in to a proper world-class car maker. Even better, a world-class maker of cars with real soul.

Something only the British and Italians seem able to master.

By Cars UK