4:45 pm, March 26, 2013
JAGUAR dealers: Prepare for some awkward phone calls… because there’s a new car on show and you won’t be getting it!
The manufacturer has pulled the wraps off an ultra-exclusive and monstrously fast version of its XKR-S, badged the GT – but it won’t be coming to the UK.
Only 30 of them are to be built with 25 heading to the States and the remaining five going to Canada.
There is a glimmer of hope for UK buyers though. Rumour has it that the £130,000 GT may be sold in the UK – but only if there if is sufficient demand for a right-hand drive model.
Chances are Jaguar dealers will be getting some phone calls from well-heeled customers wanting to know why they can’t buy an XKR-S GT. Perhaps a petition may be in order?
So what are they be missing? Well, under the bonnet of the winged racer is a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine packing a mighty 542bhp and 680Nm of torque. That’s enough to see it hit 60mph in 3.9 seconds and achieve a limited top speed of 186mph.
Developed by Jaguar’s crack racing division the XKR-S GT has been designed to be the ultimate track-focussed, but road-going version of the XK coupe.
Jaguar design director Ian Callum explained that the GT had been designed ‘purely by the laws of physics’.
He added: ‘It has been developed in the wind tunnel and on the racetrack with the sole aim of creating as much high-speed stability and downforce as possible.
‘Nothing has been styled for the sake of it. It’s been an exercise in efficiency and the result is a car that’s raw, focused and devastatingly quick.’
Jaguar global brand director Adrian Hallmark added: ‘The XKR-S GT is the most extreme iteration of the Jaguar R brand’s performance focus.
‘Utilising race-car derived technology, all-aluminium construction and an uncompromised approach to aerodynamic efficiency, the result is a car as capable on the track as it is exhilarating on the road.’
So there you have it – the car you can’t sell… at the moment.
