11/27/10

2009 Jaguar XKR Goodwood Special

Cars Mania Blog
Auto Car | 2009 Jaguar XKR Goodwood Special |  The ex-English automaker, Jaguar, has prepared a very special version of their two door coupe, the XK, for this weekend’s Festival of Speed. On July 3-5, the Earl of March will open up his estate to almost 200,000 automotive enthusiasts and spectators. The Jaguar XKR Goodwood Special will be powered by a supercharged 5.0 Liter V8 pumping out 510 HP. The sleek Jag will also feature a throatier exhaust note thanks to a some free flowing pipes.

It will be hard to miss the hardtop XKR painted in a shocking lime green when it has a go at this hill in the Sunday Times Super Car Run up the 1.16 mile course. The equally menacing front fascia made up of a new satin graphite grille, headlamp surrounds, flat painted mirrors and even the louvers on the forward opening hood set this ferocious feline apart from other Jaguars. The XKR Goodwood Special also receives some upgraded rolling stock in the form of a set of signature 21 inch rims

The fastest Jaguar ever will make its UK debut later this week at the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Jaguar’s XFR Prototype made its record-breaking run at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last November, reaching a stunning top speed of 225.675mph.

The XFR Prototype, which will be driven by Rocketsports Racing owner, Paul Gentilozzi, the man behind the wheel at Bonneville, appears in Goodwood’s ’First Glance’ category. A one-off Jaguar XKR will join the ’Supercar run’, driven by Mike Cross, Jaguar’s Chief Engineer of Vehicle Integrity.

Mike O’Driscoll, Managing Director, Jaguar Cars, said: "The essence of the Festival is speed, making it the perfect venue for fielding Jaguar’s fastest car ever – the record-breaking XFR Prototype.

"The XKR ’Goodwood Special’ has been developed as a one-off to explore the harder side of the XKR’s character and allow our engineering team to explore some performance boundaries. The Festival of Speed gives us the opportunity to have fun in a high performance car without all the practical and legal requirements of driving on the road getting in the way!

"These stunning modern Jaguars will be accompanied by a terrific selection of our ’fastest’ and most significant historic vehicles."

In keeping with this year’s endurance theme, Jaguar’s illustrious heritage will be represented on ’The Hill’ in the form of Le Mans winners – the D-type and the C-type. Jaguar will also field the unique XJ13 a car designed for endurance racing in the 1960s but which never competed – yet is still considered by many to be one of the most beautiful racing cars of all time.

The 1957 Le Mans winning long-nose D-type will roar its way up the hallowed hill climb once again. Duncan Hamilton won the Reims 12-hour race in this car in 1956 along with Ivor Bueb and that same year, Mike Hawthorn entered the 1956 24-hour race at Le Mans with Bueb, finishing sixth. Hawthorn and Bueb drove this car again in 1957 at Sebring, finishing third.

First victory for Jaguar at Le Mans 24-hour race – Jaguar C-TYPE
The C-type brought Jaguar its first victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race. Once the XK120 had finished twelfth in the 1950 Le Mans, demonstrating its abilities in racing, it was clear Jaguar had the makings of a world-beater spurring on chief engineer William Heynes to create a competition version for Le Mans – the C-type.

Other styling tweaks that differentiate this model over the standard 2010 XKR facelift include the 21-inch alloys and the satin graphite detailing to the front grilles, door mirrors, rear signature blade, side window surrounds, headlights and bonnet louvres.

What's more is that Jaguar's engineers fiddled around with the XKR's supercharged 5.0-liter V8 that in standard form makes 510HP and 625Nm or 461 lb-ft of torque launching the sports coupe from standstill to 60mph (96km/h) in 4.6 seconds. In the XKR Goodwood Special, output is lifted to 530 horsepower and torque to 700Nm or 516.2 lb-ft.

The special edition XKR also features a lowered suspension and a tweaked exhaust system for a louder and more intimidating sound. Jaguar said that that the XKR Goodwood Special is a one-off model but we gather that if there's enough interest, the British automaker may launch a limited run series in the near future.

Source : www.topspeed.com

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