Words Carlo Brema / Photos Jaguar Media – Art & Revs

September 1922 – September 2022. Jaguar celebrates its centenary, a century of history for one of the most important and sometimes unfairly underrated brands in the scene. In the course of its illustrious history, Sir William Lyons’ big cat has in fact been able to reinvent itself, overcoming the crises of the second great war and even managing to put into trouble the high-performance elite usually reserved for the great Italian names. It has had the merit of offering luxury and performance at a price well below the competition, without forgetting the great commitment in the world of racing and a constant evolution that has led to models that today range from small to large and luxurious sedans, passing through SUVs and two-seater sports cars, also including hybrid and even fully electric models. Deliberately neglecting those icons that have written its best chapters, today we intend to celebrate some models that have ended up far from the radar, but are still able to best represent the concept of performance and comfort, as only Jaguar has been able to do over the years. Here are 5 Jaguars that can devour you on the first bite.

XJR (1997-2003)

The XJ is the quintessential Jaguar sedan. Produced since 1968, it has from the very beginning represented the pinnacle of comfort made available for five people and their luggage, all while guaranteeing undisputed grand touring skills. In 1994 the XJR was introduced, the first true high-performance variant, which not only made the curvilinear shapes of the XJ much more aggressive, but hid a prodigious 4.0cc in-line 6-cylinder of 326 horsepower under the hood. In 2004 it was time to point out that the XJ was not just a luxurious sedan for journeys in extreme relax and so – with the update called AJ-V8 – comes a 4-liter V8 of 370 horsepower, enough to move the gigantic jaguar from 0 to 100 kph in just 5.6 seconds. Of course, the weight was pretty important, but the dynamics and precision of the large sedan knew how to entertain between bends, still remaining a comfortable four-door full of leather and wood into the cockpit. Finding it at affordable prices on the second-hand market makes it one of the Jaguars you should keep an eye on if you want to improve your journeys and at the same time make them incredibly faster.

S-TYPE R (2002-2007)

The S-Type has always divided the aficionados of the brand. The upside was that it was the first model made entirely by Jaguar in decades, the downside was a nondescript look and shapes that made it clunky and let’s face it, a jaguar is never out of shape. In 2002, perhaps after having listened to the requests of that circle of more dedicated drivers, Jaguar decides that it is time to put the letter “R” next to the S-Type badge and thus a certainly less known model than the XJR is born as it tries in every way to give new energy to the original S-Type. Equipped with a 4.2-liter supercharged V8 and 400 horsepower, the S-Type R enjoys aesthetic tweaks that evoke its performance side, such as new bumpers, new wheels and a small lip at the base of the trunk, which surmounts the two exhaust pipes. Performance like 5.6 seconds for the 0-100 and a maximum speed of 250 per hour, but above all a much more convincing image of your boring uncle’s S-Type.

XFR (2011-2015)

It was 2007 and Jaguar’s bank account was in severe pain. Providentially, the then Ford owner understood that the time had come to introduce a model that could be sold to a wider clientele and this was the XF, a sedan that, thanks to the mighty Ian Callum, sported an almost coupe line, despite the four doors and dimensions that are anything but contained. Ford gave much more than a few indications, as in the case of the engines, including diesel ones, but in 2011 – already in the hands of Tata – the XF was able to end up on the radar of enthusiasts with the XFR, the performance variant, equipped with a loud 5-liter V8 and 385 horsepower.

While obviously maintaining a strong connection with the lines of the standard model, the XFR was a completely different machine and still knows how to turn heads today. In 2013, the lunatic 550 horsepower XFR-S was also introduced, also available as a Sportbrake version.

XKR-S (2011-2014)

The XK8 has been able to awaken the grand touring nature of the great Jaguars of the past. The XKR has elevated the fun factor. The XKR-S recalled that madness is the most important ingredient in a beautiful love story with an incredibly noisy two-seater and an absurd desire to tear the rear tires at the first corner. Introduced in 2011 and with extra muscle over the XKR variant, the XKR-S sports a bodywork made of air intakes, ribs, spoilers and a stiffened, low-slung stance essential to tame the supercharged 550-hp 5-liter V8 able to ground 681 Nm. Often nicknamed as a European muscle car, it is a model that soon became iconic not only for its surprising performance (4.3 seconds on 0-100 and 299 per hour of top speed), but because it represented without half measures the quintessence of good old times’ Jaguar spirit.

[BONUS] LISTER XJS (1986)

This is not exactly a Jaguar, given that the action of Lister is substantial, but we could not leave aside one of the most exasperated projects that the British automotive history has ever created. It is simply called Lister Jaguar XJS and is the extreme XJS coupe according to Lister Cars, which in 1986 led the founder to get his hands on 90 XJS, including 25 in the even more extreme Le Mans spec. The bodywork is then enlarged, a conspicuous rear spoiler is introduced and the headlights and wheel arches are modified to accommodate new and larger wheels. Inside, nothing is left to chance as you are greeted by enveloping Recaro seats, but the real magic is courtesy of an engine that grow from 5.3cc to 7.0cc, with a profound transformation guaranteed by a modified injection system, new valves, Cosworth connecting rods, new cylinder heads and 30% stiffer Koni suspension. The maximum horsepower is 496 and peak torque reaches 678 Nm, while the Getrag gearbox is a 5-speed manual. Crazy, almost untamable, enough to make the legendary XJ220 pale and make a beast like the XKR-S look like a city car for novice drivers.