Jaguar plans 'Black Series'

XKR-S GT to be first in a series of niche performance models with a hardcore edge

By Alex Robbins / Thursday, 9 May 2013 / Loading comments

The

that was unveiled at the

earlier this year will be the first in a series of high-end, limited-run performance models from the company. That’s according to Jaguar’s design studio director Wayne Burgess, who confirmed the plan in a recent interview with

Edmunds

Black Series Mercs will be a target

The new range of GT-badged cars will have the Mercedes

Black Series

line-up firmly in its sights, as well as specials from BMW like the

M3 GTS

and, of course, the

Porsche 911 GT3

, the idea being that the ‘R’ badge will mean ‘quick’, the ‘R-S’ badge will mean ‘even quicker’, and the ‘R-S GT’ moniker will mean ‘hand-built and just a bit barmy’. Though they might phrase it a bit differently up at Jag HQ. And while Burgess wasn’t able to say which models might be the next recipients of a GT badge, he did add that the

F-Type

offers “a broad range of opportunities”. The

XFR-S

has got to be a shoe-in, too. Might Jag even stretch to something as mad as an

XJR

-based GT model? Hmmm... perhaps unlikely, as is a

Q-Type or XQ

GT (though that comes as something of a relief). But it’s a fair bet that the small saloon Jaguar’s currently developing will eventually get a

C63 AMG Black Series

-rivalling derivative.

Question is, how relevant will this be to us in the UK? At present, Jaguar has no plans to bring the XKR-S GT over here (unless, they say, we shout loud enough about it), with 25 of the 30 cars earmarked for production going to the US, and five to Canada. Does that mean future GTs will be similarly Stateside-skewed? We hope not.

XJR-S was Jaguar's last exclusive special

Of course, Jaguar’s been at this high-end niche game before. Although considerably less hardcore, the

XJR-S

was an attempt to offer a more sporting – and, notably, more exclusive – option than the standard, rather squidgy

XJS

. With suspension and brakes tweaked by TWR, handling was sharpened up (comparatively speaking), though the sumptuous hide-trimmed interior was far removed from the racy Alcantara frenzy of the XKR-S GT. Mind you, the bodykit was almost as extrovert in its day as the straked and bewinged aero treatment given to the GT, as

this 1992 example

will attest. With the later 6.0-litre V12, it produced 338hp, a significant figure that meant, even with its autobox, that it could hit 60mph in just over six seconds. OK, so it was decidedly less hardcore than the new GT models look likely to be, but it was about as close as Jaguar came back in the day. Which gives us an interesting comparison between where Jaguar saw its most exclusive customers back then, and where it sees them today. Change for the better? Over to you.

[Source: Edmunds]