NEW YORK AUTO SHOW: Jaguar XKRS Australia bound

Jaguar's 404kW supercharged V8 XKR-S unveiled at the 2011 Geneva motor show earlier in the year has been confirmed for the local market.

The prestige importer confirmed that an initial batch of just three of the extreme GT cars will find their way to Australia by November, as a litmus test of sorts to see how the market responds to the Ferrari California-rivalling big cat. Jaguar's local brand manager, Kevin Goult, confirmed the news at the New York auto show, adding that pricing has not been set in stone but that we can expect a price tag of around $350,000 for the fastest Jag ever made.

Powered by an upgraded version of the XKR's bespoke supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine, outputting a seismic 404kW at 6000rpm and 680Nm at a very low 2500rpm, the exotic British sports car accelerates from zero to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds, roughly the same time it takes to mouth "what was that!?"

Compared to the 'regular' XKR Coupe, the XKR-S's extra 30 kilowatts of power and 55Nm of torque have been liberated thanks to revised fuel injection mapping and an active exhaust system, allowing the Jag to dispatch the zero to 160km/h sprint in a very timely 8.6 seconds.

The engine's monumental power output is focused through a tweaked six-speed automatic ZF-derived gearbox to deal with the extra mumbo, and it's fitted with steering wheel paddles for fingertip shifting, should the driver want to take control of the situation.

Featuring all the premium interior features that have made Jaguar a top tier luxury car maker, including 16-way electronically adjustable leather seats (with side bolsters), stainless steel pedals and soft-grain Jet Poltrona Frau Italian leather headlining, the tyre-frying Jaguar XKR-S has a top speed of around 300km/h yet has claimed fuel economy of just 12.3L/100km -- lower than HSV's naturally aspirated V8 sports cars.

The Jaguar XKR-S emits 292 grams of CO2 per kilometre, which isn't too shabby for a high performance rear-wheel drive two-seater grand tourer.

Befitting a performance car of this calibre, the XKR-S's suspension has been calibrated to deliver highly responsive handling thanks to the standard fitment of a specially calibrated version of Jaguar's Adaptive Damping technology, which ensures "total body control and maximum traction and grip" to quote the press statement. In other words, it can make average drivers look good.

"The XKR-S encompasses everything a performance Jaguar should be; as capable, precise and thrilling on your drive home as it is at the Nurburgring," explains Mike Cross, the chief engineer for vehicle integrity at Jaguar.

"Every response delay has been minimised in order to give the car a more connected feel in the manner in which it steers, handles, stops and goes," says Cross, in reference to the driver-adjustable Adaptive Damping settings.

From the outside, car spotters will notice the extra venting near the leading edge of the car's bonnet, designed to improve the thermal dynamics inside the engine bay, while the front bumper gets a carbon fibre front splitter and new look lateral venting near the front wheels, which adds width to the car's aggressive visage.

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