Jaguar Considering track-Focused XKR-S

To most, the 550-horsepower Jaguar XKR-S is about as hardcore as you’d ever want a Jaguar to be. However, for the buyer that likes to take his car to a track, race it, and then drive home again, even the XKR-S may not be focused enough. This has got management at Jaguar wondering if they should build something akin to say, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or the BMW M3 GTS. Essentially race cars converted for road-use, the special edition Porsche and BMW are stripped of any amenities that may make life more comfortable. They are then treated to some serious performance modifications, including more power, stiffer suspension, and much more aggressive aerodynamic design. Jaguar is now considering applying that same formula to a handful of its XKR-S coupes, a car that is already a rare sight given its own limited production run of just 100 units. The information was revealed by the British automaker’s global communications chief, Frank Klaas, who spoke recently with Car and Driver. If built, the track-focused XKR-S would likely lose its rear seats, have a full roll-cage and fire-suppression system installed, gain a pair of racing bucket seats with harnesses, and have new, easy-to-read gauges fitted. Jaguar has a special division for building bespoke cars, the in-house Engineered To Order (ETO) group, and the team at ETO are likely to build any track-focused XKR-S should the project be given the green light. Klaas did admit that the ETO group would play a more prominent role in Jaguar’s future. A concept version to gauge public interest is expected to be unveiled at a major international auto show sometime this year. Note, Jaguar is planning to unveil a new special edition XK and XKR range at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show next month, though these won’t be available in the U.S. The cars get a number of upgrades including ‘Artisan’ hand-crafted interiors, a 525W Bowers & Wilkins, exclusive colors, and special badging.