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The Jaguar XKR 75 Goodwood Limited Edition was Jaguar’s 75th birthday present to itself and its customers – a ‘tougher’ version of the Jaguar XKR with the emphasis on performance & handling. But what exactly is it, and how did it come about? Jaguar kindly arranged for me to speak to Dave Pook, one of the dynamics team that worked with Mike Cross, Chief Engineer, Vehicle Integrity at JLR, on the development.The genesis dates back to 2006, before the introduction of the 4.2 XKR. Mike, Dave and Matt O’Hara completed the XKR development, but still had the test vehicle; they decided it would be interesting to see how the car would be with a bit more driver-focused development. Jaguar management told them they could carry on, but it would have to be in their own time – this flexibility to allow the use of company facilities to develop pet projects is something I’ve always admired in Jaguar. A lot of unpaid evening and weekend development work eventually led to the 2008 4.2 XKR-S, a 200-unit limited edition, with stiffened & lowered suspension, an aero body kit, forged Vortex alloys and a top speed of 174 mph. 

But they didn’t stop there. While the development of the 5.0 XKR was underway, the same trio, along with Jon Croxford, Michelle O’Connor, Dave Moore and assistance from a few others, was working on a similar out-of-hours upgrade of the new car. With the new XKR’s more powerful engine and active differential, they were already a jump beyond the 4.2 package. Taking the same principles used on the 2008 car and starting with many of the same components (springs, dampers, forged wheels), they added revised steering, software tweaks and more power to the mix, with a new exhaust and a revised ECU map.

Only 75  Jaguar XKR 75 were made, sold in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands and Belgium – and only 20 of these were right-hand drive for the UK market. All cars were kitted out in dark Stratus Grey with Charcoal leather and Piano Black veneer. Pale grey ‘mascara’ stripes over the wheel arches were, fortunately, an optional extra. A different 175-unit limited edition, the XKR 175, was released in the US & Canada, but this was basically a Speed Pack model without any further performance/handling modifications.

The full “XKR 75 Goodwood LE” spec, and its relation to the later Dynamic Pack and XKR-S, is as follows:

• Power increased to 530PS (523bhp) from 510PS (503bhp) on the XKR, and torque increased to 655Nm (483ft-lb) from 625Nm (461ft-lb). This was achieved both through exhaust changes and recalibration of the engine ECU, the latter in partnership with the Rocket Sports Racing engineering team that worked with Jaguar on their 2010 motorsports program.
• ‘Sports exhaust’ with improved performance and acoustics, removing the centre silencer boxes and replacing them with a crossover pipe, but retaining the rear box & outlets. A later refinement with larger outboard exhaust outlets became the Performance Active Exhaust, an XKR option and standard on the XKR-S.
• Upgraded torque converter to handle the increased torque (carried over to the R-S).
• Electronic speed limiter increased to 174 mph (280 km/h), and 0-60 time decreased to 4.4s, 0-100 to 8.9s. However, I’ve discovered that, on my car at least, the limiter seems to have been set at 186 mph (300 km/h), the same as the R-S.
• Re-tuned Adaptive Dynamics damper-control software, increased spring and damper rates (front springs 28% stiffer, rear springs 32%) and lower ride height (10mm). Active Dynamics was further tuned for the Dynamic Pack & R-S, but the springs and dampers are the same.
• New fully machined aluminium front and revised rear suspension uprights that increase camber stiffness by 30% – the former is unique to the 75, as the R-S and Dynamic Pack (being larger production runs) have a cast front upright with the same design.
• Speed Pack body kit with body-colored finish: front splitter, side-sill extensions, rear diffuser and larger rear spoiler. This reduces lift by 25%. All of the exterior trim is also body-colored or black.
• 20" Vortex forged lightweight alloy wheels, diamond-turned with dark grey finish, 9” front & 10.5” rear, with rear tyre width increased by 10mm to 295mm. The forged wheels reduce unspring weight by approx. 4.8kg. While the fronts are the same as the 2008 Jaguar XKR-S, the rear wheels have a larger offset because the rear axle is different from the 4.2 XKR.

Other goodies: Jaguar XKR75 sill tread plate, active front lighting, DAB radio, red brake callipers, commemorative card signed by Mike Cross & Ian Callum, optional graphics pack.

Although publicity at the time implied that there were revisions to the Electronic Active Differential software, the team ran out of time and budget and the standard XKR settings were used. That was rectified in the XKR-S, which received a custom version of the EAD and Dynamic Stability Control software.

The success of the Jaguar XKR 75 showed that there was a market for a ‘harder’ XKR, and the team was given full company funding to develop the concept even further. The result was the XKR-S, with changes to the active diff., dynamic stability control and adaptive dynamics, as well as a revised body kit that reduced lift by 26% (1% more than the Speed Pack), a top-speed increase to 186 mph, and sports seats. Dave Pook has carried this work forward to the R-S GT, which he describes as “slightly bonkers”.

In effect, therefore, the XKR 75 is what evolved into the Dynamic Pack (including the Speed Pack) and the Performance Active Exhaust, with the addition of engine power/torque enhancements and a stronger torque converter to handle those. It is a sort of halfway house between a fully performance-optioned XKR and the XKR-S.

 Driving Experience of Jaguar XKR 75 for sale

On the road, the 75 is noticeably firmer than a standard XKR, but it hasn’t lost the classic Jag compliance; it’s certainly much more comfortable than the Nissan GT-R. The suspension changes make the steering very direct – you point, it goes. It understeers on the limit, because it’s a heavy car, but you have to push it very hard to find that limit. The car feels very well planted, particularly in Dynamic mode.

The torque is massive, and it far exceeds the rear tyres ability to deliver it to the road.

The exhaust sound is glorious. When idling, it sounds like a dragon gargling; if you give the throttle a good shove in neutral, there’s a wicked crackle on the overrun; when you give it the beans while moving, there’s a mighty roar. This car can be loud.

History: The Jaguar XKR 75th edition for sale here has covered no more than 3,300 km from new and is the ultimate collector’s item. It was first registered in Sweden in 2010 and taken into traffic here one year later. It had one owner, and it comes with all original items.

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We are located in south Sweden just north of Malmö. The nearest airport is Copenhagen (Denmark) and we will be happy to assist you when you come to see us. Please visit our homepage www.classix.se to see all pictures/videos we have of this vehicle in full resolution and size. We always have between 30-50 cars in stock. If you choose to buy a car from us, we can help you get a very fair price on transport. Sweden is in EU and there is no tax for classic cars in E.U region. If you have serious interest, we always have more photos/video to share, and we can show the car in a video meeting such as WhatsApp. Buy from trusted dealers. Check our reviews on Google, and Facebook. Dieses Auto befindet sich im Sueden von Schweden, nur 30 Minuten vom Flughafen Kopenhagen entfernt. Wenn Sie Interesse haben sich das Fahrzeug anzuschauen, können wir Sie auch gerne vom Flughafen abholen. Wenn Sie das Auto kaufen möchten, können Sie es nach Hause fahren oder wir könnten auch einen Transport fuer Sie organisieren. Ich spreche gerne Deutsch am telefon, aber antworten e-mail nur im Englisch. Schweden sin in E.U= kein steuer.