Jaguar XK RS

Jaguar XK RS

Jaguar XK RS

Jaguar XK RS

Jaguar XK RS

The new XKR-S is a coughing, cackling, fuel-snorting loon, emitting a metal-edged bellow at any opportunity and mooching around with all the subtlety of a trigger-happy chainsaw operator in a public library.

It's a mighty clear indication what the XKR-S - essentially a turn-all-the-knobs-up-to-11 iteration of the XKR - is about. Despite packing 542bhp and a top speed of 184mph it isn't, as the marketing types claim, the fastest and most powerful Jaguar ever: 1991's XJ220 boasted the same power output and could manage 217mph flat out.See more pics of the Jaguar XKR-SBut it's a razor-edged thing nonetheless.

Thanks to an engine remap and exhaust tweak, power is up by 32bhp over the XKR. The fixed carbon rear wing and vertical vents either side of the Jag's gaping mouth don't do much for the coupe's svelte lines, but they help reduce high speed lift by 26 per cent. Tougher front suspension, 26 per cent sharper springs and lightweight 20-inch alloys all add up to a 4.2-second 0-62mph time and a sub-eight minute Nordschliefe lap.You might worry that this puts the XKR-S in a tricky place. The XKR has always steered clear of the track-focused fistfight, instead carving out a niche as a super-fast grand tourer. Might the bulked-up Jag have forgotten its USP?

Not to worry. The XKR-S retains Jaguar's trademark delicacy of ride: firm but never harsh, planted but pliable. Yes, it's noticeably stiffer than the XKR, but never brittle. No company in the world does damping better than Jaguar... and no company makes a better supercharged engine. As the 5.0-litre V8 winds up past 4500rpm, the speed piles on so quickly that things start to get a bit blurry, the supercharger's scream accompanying a worrying tendency of the distant horizon to attack the windscreen at pace.

Actually, there is one more issue, and one that reads something like this: £97,000. That's a serious price tag, £20,000 north of the standard XKR, and in the domain of some serious metal: the Audi R8 V10, a kitted-up Porsche 911 GT3 and, most significantly, the new Aston Martin Vantage S.