The cat's back and it's looking for prey. Buoyed by the early positive reception to its fastest and most powerful model since the mighty XJ220 supercar – the XKR-S – Jaguar is planning something special for dessert: a lightweight supersport edition of its reborn coupe.
In the world of high-performance special editions, where cars such as the Maserati MC Stradale and Audi R8 LMS shed up to 100kg to sharpen their skills, the XKR-S is notable for not going on a weight loss program.
Instead, Jaguar added more performance the old fashioned way: by adding more power. The supercharged 5.0-litre V8 from the XKR got more power and torque (to 404kW and 680Nm).
But the potential of a lightweight version has not been lost on the company's engineers.
"It would be quite easy to take a lot of weight out of the car," Andy Lowis, a powertrain specialist for Jaguar, told the Carsales Network at the launch of the XKR-S in Portugal last week. "There is a lot of room between where we are now and [a lightweight version]. Watch this space, this is the start for us now."
When asked if a lightweight model was in the company's plan, Lowis said: "I couldn't discuss that at the moment but … weight is the most obvious opportunity with the vehicle. [The engine's ouput of] 550hp is more than sufficient for most people and we've got a car that's very capable on the road and on the track. So if we were to build an even more focused product then weight is potentially the route we would go down."
When asked if Jaguar could shed 100kg from the XKR-S, Lowis said that would be "a conservative number".
He said the XKR-S is already competitive in the GT class; it weighs 1753kg thanks to an aluminum body and lightweight components. For example, the corner suspension assemblies of the XKR-S each weigh 4.8kg less than before, but extra body strengthening added weight in other areas. The win some, lose some exercise means the XKR-S reached a status quo: it weighs the same as an XKR.
"You wouldn't start with a built car and then take things out," he said. "You would start with a shell and everything you put in the shell you'd question as to whether you actually needed it or not. There is a definite opportunity, but I can't say anything more than that.
"We're all petrol heads at the end of the day and we look at things like the [Porsche 911] GT3 RS. That's a great car but it hasn't got the power and torque that we've got but it does have something else, which is added lightness," he said.
Lowis said the XKR-S had given the company confidence to do more sporting vehicles. "We know this car has [performance] credibility. That's why we've invited [journalists] to a track. We know it can take the punishment. But [the XKR-S] is a GT car. This car we know we've got a market for, but it's a little bit of a market tester for us as well."
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