Has the Jaguar XKR-S Sportbrake leaked out early?

Sun, 23 Feb 2014

Want to haul ass down the Autobahn with the whole family and all their gear in tow? Forget that Porsche Cayenne or Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 – what you'll want is a power wagon: something like an Audi RS6 Avant or Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate. Unfortunately there are precious few of these performance station wagons on the market anywhere, especially with American offerings like the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon on its way out and the Dodge Magnum SRT8 long gone. But there's a new challenger emerging.

That'd be the Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake, a hi-po estate from Coventry that's been a long time in the making. And now it's apparently almost here. (Only by "here," we mean "there," as it's not likely ever to come to the United States.)

Apparently set to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show is a Frankenstein-style cross between a Jaguar XF Sportbrake and XFR-S performance sedan, taking the best elements from both. From the former, that means the extended roofline that gives it the cargo capacity of a small crossover. From the former, that means a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 producing 542 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque, driving the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

That ought to be good for a 4.6-second 0-60 run and a top speed in the vicinity of 180 miles per hour. But before you go comparing that to the less powerful XFR Sportbrake, bear in mind that there isn't one, and has never been one: Jaguar has apparently opted to skip the less powerful XFR treatment for the wagon version and go straight to the XFR-S. It's a shrewd move on Coventry's part, and we expect to have all the juicy details shortly.

By Noah Joseph