The Crittenden Automotive Library

Good news! Jaguar XKR-S GT coming to the UK

Topics: Jaguar XKR-S

Good news! Jaguar XKR-S GT coming to the UK

Matt Hubbard
Speedmonkey
March 28, 2013

Jaguar's blindingly fast and awesome looking new XKR-S GT was launched at the New York International Auto Show as an extreme version of the XK - but available only in North America.

Only 30 units of the 186mph, 545bhp, supercharged V8 supercar, with a carbon spoiler big enough to eat your dinner off, were intended to be produced, with 25 earmarked for the US and 5 for Canada.

But Jaguar have been overwhelmed by the international response to the launch of the XKR-S GT and might end up producing it in limited numbers elsewhere, should the demand arise.

Jaguar's Global Product Marketing Director, Steven de Ploey, said at the NYIAS: "Based on the launch, we may consider offering it in selected markets, including the UK. It was developed with our US colleagues because this is the largest market for performance-oriented and sports cars by far."

de Ploey said Jaguar was "very conscious" of the potential to upset XKR-S owners by adding a version above so Jaguar has gone out of its way to make the GT completely different in character.

"It is a touchy subject," he said. "We were anxious not to create another high-performance car for the road. This is a track car which is capable of going on to the road."

The idea for it came from within Jaguar and was later picked up by the North American marketing teams. "We wanted to experiment with new technologies to see what the car is ultimately capable of and how we could carry on developing it," says de Ploey. "It started out an internal device to unleash the XK's full capability."

There you have it. We might see the XKR-S GT in the UK after all.