Friday 11th November 2011

Sport and Speed packs for Jaguar XJ

Jaguar unveils a pair of options packs for its saloon flagship - one of which'll see you doing 174 mph

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Jaguar has released two new 'performance-driven' option kits for the XJ - The Sport Pack and the Speed Pack.

Tick the Sport Pack box for your new XJ and you'll get a splitter on the front, an extended bootlid lip, gloss black mesh in the grille and red brake calipers peeping out from behind new 20-inch 'Venom' alloy wheels.

Inside are tweaks to the front (optional sports) and rear seats, and fillets of carbon fibre here and there.

The Sport Pack is available on all models except the supercharged car. On that, you can now get the Speed Pack, which takes all the cosmetic and aerodynamic additions of the Sport pack, but raises the electronically limited top speed from 155mph to 174mph.

Which we will admit is a little pointless unless you live near an autobahn, but it is useful ammo in the pub...

 

 

[lgomgf]

how to ruin a good looking car... the speed pack is useful for me, but the price tag on the supercharged makes it pointless also. Like said pub bragging rights.

[Moogle]

lgomgf said:

how to ruin a good looking car IN MY OPINION... the speed pack is useful for me, but the price tag on the supercharged makes it pointless also. Like said pub bragging rights.

EFA, you're welcome


Will they ever officially release an XJR I wonder? I love mine more than I should!

[Cassius81]

Is it me, or are red calipers something that look a bit out of place on big Mercs, Jags etc? I've always thought you can get away with them on a Golf GTI or Megane or similar, but at this price level it just looks, well, a bit Halfords to me..

And the same goes for the bodykit. The XJ looks nice and understated in standard form (even the Supersports version), which is a good thing in my view. Why change that?!

[LongLiveTazio]

Cassius81 said:

Is it me, or are red calipers something that look a bit out of place on big Mercs, Jags etc? I've always thought you can get away with them on a Golf GTI or Megane or similar, but at this price level it just looks, well, a bit Halfords to me..

And the same goes for the bodykit. The XJ looks nice and understated in standard form (even the Supersports version), which is a good thing in my view. Why change that?!

They're not changing it, it's an option.

Heaven forbid they should respond to customer feedback. Some people like their 500bhp cars to look more aggressive and different from 'lesser' examples.

[0a]

I LOVE the XJ, this looks even better in my opinion. The back end and side profile is just delightful.

[T1berious]

Surely, there's a fair amount of exotica out there with red callipers as an option as well as being available on hot hatches?
IMHO, give people what they want, I'd imagine the changes made here were the result of customer requests rather than Jaguar just fancying it

[andymadmak]

Love it!

Love my current XJ, but this is something else. :wibble:

[British Beef]

Sports pack is a very nice looking option I think, stands out without being brash.

Is there also a de-chrome option?

I am not a fan of chrome on modern cars, the previous style XJ Jags got away with it, but I dont think it suits this modern design (especially not in white).

[ferdyg]

"Will they ever officially release an XJR I wonder? I love mine more than I should!"

It's called a Supersport now

[Cassius81]

LongLiveTazio said:

Cassius81 said:

Is it me, or are red calipers something that look a bit out of place on big Mercs, Jags etc? I've always thought you can get away with them on a Golf GTI or Megane or similar, but at this price level it just looks, well, a bit Halfords to me..

And the same goes for the bodykit. The XJ looks nice and understated in standard form (even the Supersports version), which is a good thing in my view. Why change that?!

They're not changing it, it's an option.

Heaven forbid they should respond to customer feedback. Some people like their 500bhp cars to look more aggressive and different from 'lesser' examples.

Fair enough - but in my opinion it makes the car look worse. Heaven forbid I should have my own opinion.

[LongLiveTazio]

Cassius81 said:

Fair enough - but in my opinion it makes the car look worse. Heaven forbid I should have my own opinion.

Nobody said you can't have your own opinion (I don't think it's an improvement) but it's wrong to say they're 'changing' it, it's just an option. Car companies make a lot of money from 'personalisation' options, just look at MINI. The luxury segment shouldn't really be much different, so as long as Jag rake in a few more sales then good on them, I like to see them doing well.

[MrCarCoach]

Looks fantastic in white, BUT i'm still not sure about the black side pillars next to the rear screen. They still look like an after-thought, they should be body-coloured.

[LordGrover]

Limited to 174 or removed the 155 limit?

[Blown2CV]

grace, pace and space

where's the grace in that? Not everyone wants a car that looks like it's been tuning company'd.

Don't get me wrong in some ways I like the idea of it but all prestige brands seem to be converging towards one set of values.

[M666 EVO]

LordGrover said:

Limited to 174 or removed the 155 limit?

I was wondering that...

Not sure about the brake calipers being red but I do love it as a whole.

This needs an XJR version...

[dmackenzie888]

Wow!!! Jags design department are certainly getting it right recently. That is quite some road presence right there!!!!

[snaelro]

not sure about those pieces of plastic stuck on the front bumper (they don't even fit properly at the wheel arch), and the calipers (we are not talking aluminium 4 or 6 pistons monobloc calipers...but basic ones like those on any family car) sprayed in halfords red...




in white it just looks like a fat beluga

[Cassius81]

LongLiveTazio said:

Cassius81 said:

Fair enough - but in my opinion it makes the car look worse. Heaven forbid I should have my own opinion.

Nobody said you can't have your own opinion (I don't think it's an improvement) but it's wrong to say they're 'changing' it, it's just an option. Car companies make a lot of money from 'personalisation' options, just look at MINI. The luxury segment shouldn't really be much different, so as long as Jag rake in a few more sales then good on them, I like to see them doing well.

You are quite right. Sorry, am grumpy due to toothache. And if the extra funds keep J/LR in business, this can only be good.

I would have mine in a dark colour, tan interior, standard wheels and the supercharged engine. No bodykit. Thank you!

[bobberz]

Not sure I'd believe the top speed anyway. My dad maxed a previous-gen XJR in the desert of Nevada and the limiter kicked in at only 136, not the claimed 155mph it should have been.

Love the look of the new XJ; has massive road presence! Much prefer it to the stodgy, brick-like Phantom. I still can't stand the black C-pillars, though. What were they thinking? They only work on a black car, definitely not on white.

[Ashley1111]

bobberz said:

Not sure I'd believe the top speed anyway. My dad maxed a previous-gen XJR in the desert of Nevada and the limiter kicked in at only 136, not the claimed 155mph it should have been.

Trust me, it will. Seen 170's on Jaguars test track at Gaydon in both XFR & XKR's that were not "speed packed". (GPS, not speedo).

Havent managed to test the new limiter on a speed pack or the even higher XKR-S yet but should be interesting to "see what it'll do...."