Jaguar XK-R Portfolio Road Test

Days do not get much better than this if you are a Jaguar lover.

Although the day started out on an all too typical stretch of Interstate, there would be nothing typical about exploring personal nirvana in the quiet corners of Virginia's Northern Neck on a cold, bright autumn day in a dark grey metallic 2009 Jaguar XK-R Portfolio convertible.

The day started surrounded by the suffocating phalanx of traffic on the Interstate by an unremarkable surfeit sea of mini vans, economy sedans and tractor trailers, yet the Portfolio patiently waited to stretch its paws, showing eagerness at the slightness twitch of the right foot. Driving dutifully among the masses at the posted limit, my first impression was, "This is way too much car for the everyday world."

Indeed it is. Yet even so, the XK-R can live in both the ridiculous world of everyday commuting, to the sublime life of performance driving in the fast lane with equal aplomb.

As we peeled off of Interstate 95 southbound from Washington DC, onto the scenic Highway 17 Virginia Byway headed east bound to a private world of discovery dancing along the Rappahanock river, the Portfolio came into its own. The fully automatic top is hardtop quiet when erected at all speeds, and the one button ballet to either raise or lower the hood happens in seconds. With the top down at highway--or even high speed--not a tassel of my lovely companions hair was mussed, such is the aerodynamic thoughtfulness built into the design.

All new expensive cars are a little complex, but even without reading the owner's manual, most systems on the R were easy to figure out.

Like many top end new cars, the XK, like the XF, uses a proximity radio frequency key that automatically unlocks the vehicle as you approach. Multiple keys can be programmed to recognize different drivers, and upon entering, the 10 way adjustable seats and mirrors are set automatically to the driver's preference. Start procedure requires one foot on the brake pedal, and a firm push of a finger on the center console mounted engine start/stop button, engaging the willing but supremely smooth 4.2 liter dual overhead cam AJ8 V8 power plant.

The 7" touch screen center video controls the brilliant Bowers & Wilkins 525-watt premium Dolby surround sound and SIRIUS satellite radio audio system, climate control, Bluetooth phone, navigation, and vehicle systems. It took a bit of hunt and pecking to figure things out, but overall it was a user friendly interface, albeit a little slow to respond at times.

The dashboard speedometer and tachometer are back lit luminescent and quite clear to read under all lighting conditions. Bright chrome rings around the large round dials are reminiscent of the Jags of times past and have a guild-like quality; a touch carried over in other numerous small aspects of the XK Portfolio.

Curiously, there seemed to be no way to monitor engine operations such as water or oil temperature, and even locating a trip computer to indicate real time or average fuel economy was not intuitively obvious. It even took a couple of tries to figure out to hold the retractable top button a hair longer so that the rear quarter windows would fully close. Once living with the car for awhile, certainly all these minor mysteries would be solved.

Ingress and egress into this, even the sportiest of all Jaguars, is simply elegant. My lovely lady companion had no problem getting in or out of the almost equally beautiful interior, although the aroma of Connelly leather will be missed by most long time Jag owners. The fit and finish is over-the-top excellent down to the smallest details of stitching and tactile feel, and the 10 way adjustable seats were infinitely comfortable and adjustable, although a compromise more on the luxury side than form fitting saddles which are needed for spirited cornering.

Jaguar, in this writer's opinion, has wisely and boldly moved into a new mode of styling for the new millennium with both the XF and XK, and while the non traditional interior style resolutely still says simultaneously "British" and "modern," the dark grey striped wood in our car looked plastic (fortunately the burl in other models still looks like it was made by English craftsman.) This was a small detail that is easily overlooked by the XK's breathtaking looks and stunning performance.

The XK is full of little details that make it both a technological wonder as well as an artistic automotive masterpiece. For example at night, the headlamps do a little ballet to rotate up then in, and the razor like sharp cut off point of the HID lamps blasts a cat eye shaped brilliantly bright blaze on the road ahead without blinding others. Steering wheel mounted controls for the audio system make it effortless to change music sources and volume, or set the speed or cruise controls. Interior night lighting in all parts of the cockpit is impressively elegant. One thoughtful touch was the always on, center yellow tinged LED light emanating from beneath the auto adjusting rear view mirror onto the center console below. And while almost all functions are touch screen activated, dual climate controls buttons and a dash mounted master volume control make it easy for driver and passenger to directly take care of practical creature comforts.

Externally, the Roots blown supercharged R-spec car and its Portfolio stable mate model are differentiated from the regular XK series by tasteful but aggressive hood mounted vertical vents, different front air dams and bumpers, and rear diffusers showcasing four very impressive exhaust ports. The Portfolio comes with aggressively designed 15 spoke 20" aluminium wheels shod with 245/40 tires in front and 275/30 on the rear.

Being that this car was graciously on loan from our Washington, DC metro area local dealer, Rosenthal Jaguar, with the enthusiastic encouragement of their general sales manager Roger Windermuth, I was more than a bit reticent to test the corner capabilities of the Portfolio, but a little aggressive driving around freeway on ramps and banked country lanes strongly hinted of the car's extreme promise of prodigious grip.

The massively strong and sure fully ventilated 14" front and 13" rear brakes were impressive beyond belief. If were not for the retracting seatbelts, a dental impression of my front two teeth could have easily been taken on the center steering wheel pad.

However, as Sir William Lyons, Jaguar's founder, once said decades ago to his earnest test driver Norman Dewis, after his first high speed run in the XJ-13 race car, "Well man, how did it go?" (see JCNA Library: An Interview with Norman Dewis

In a three words: Supremely, SUPERBLY FAST!

The engineers at the Whitley design center in England, in true Jaguar tradition, have continued with the "Grace, Space, Pace" approach to the high octane Supercharged Portfolio. The idle and around town driving characteristics of the car make it suitable for gathering groceries or getting to the golf course in a dignified, beautiful bundle. With either top up or down, a quiet exhaust note belie the turbine like explosive pull of the 420 horses under the characteristically beautiful Jaguar shaped bonnet.

Mated with the excellent ZF 6-speed transmission, a quick flick to the left of the bright aluminium shift lever into the sport mode slot activates manual control of the 10 and 3 mounted steering wheel paddle shifters. In fully automatic mode, the car defaults to launch in second, but the car is insanely quick when forced to begin in first gear. The impression is like being encapsulated in a old time hammock-like mail pouch suspended by an elastic band hanging then snatched from a pole by a passing stream locomotive at full speed.

The effect is not dragster-like explosive, as much as it is a pulling affect that pushes and cocoons you firmly into the seat back while you are sling-shot forward at ever dizzying speeds. Red line comes so suddenly, that if you don't tap the right up-shift paddle, you'll easily overrun the red line, and the computer will cutoff the fuel. Depending on which magazine road test you read, 0-60 times are in the sub five to mid four second range, and top speed is limited to a mere 155 MPH, although deprogramming that variable in the computer according to Jaguar will yield upwards of 187. Even while in the triple digits, the car continues to pounce and pull forward like the invisible locomotive it is seemingly tethered to.

With software programming as much a part of auto design these days as cam profiling, downshifting the XK is a double clutchless dream with the computer automatically blipping the throttle to automatically match your next lower gears road speed. The car has so much power on reserve, and the engine is so smooth and willing to deliver torque and progressively smooth power at all speeds, that I caught myself several times downshifting to 3rd then forgetting I had done so. As Georgene and I dreamingly drove along enjoying each others company, the music, and the spectacular scenes passing through Urbana and White Stone and the Virginia countryside at dusk, the XK never even hinted that it was working any harder in a lower gear--nor did it seem to care, such is the power on tap.

At $103,000, the Portfolio is not a bargain, considering that the exact same drive train is available in the top end supercharged XF variant for forty grand less with only a slight penalty in launch numbers. More raw performance is available at lower price points (e.g. Corvette, Nissan GT-R) and certainly at significantly higher prices as well (Ferrari, Lamborghini et al) but most reviewers agree and the stats tell the story that the XK-R/Portfolio is on par or excels the Aston Martin DB9 for $30,000 less, and it could be argued to be just as pretty. Even so, the car is still a lot of car, while delivering the driving joy and pride of ownership that makes Jaguars special in the automotive world.

Nevertheless, while you may get there in almost anything else, you ARRIVE in a Jaguar. The XK-R Portfolio makes that statement in spades, and has the pedigree, panache, and performance to prove it.

[ Special thanks to Roger Wildermuth and top salesman Andy xxx of Rosentathal Jaguar. Contact them for local or national sales of new or used Jaguars at http://www.rosenthaljaguar.com/ or 800-590-8135 ]

About the Author:
Wayne Estrada was founder and first president of the Virginia Jaguar Club (VJC) and serves as the Chief Concours Judge for VJC and the Nations Capitol Jaguar Owners Club (NCJOC.) His articles on Jaguars have been published in Jaguar World magazine and the Jaguar Journal, on line on http://www.Jag-Lovers.org as well as various auto web sites nationally and internationally.

One destination in which you "arrive" in a Jaguar--The Tides Inn in Whitestone, VA