Geneva Motor Show 2014: Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake unveiled

The high-performance Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. It's powered by Jaguar's 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine delivering 550PS and will cost £82,495 when it goes on sale this April.

The Sportbrake is the third R-S model from Jaguar alongside its XF saloon counterpart and the XKR-S. It uses the same 5.0-litre engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission with Quickshift technology giving a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds - only 0.2 seconds slower than the XFR-S saloon. The top speed is limited to 186mph.

To handle all that power and extra weight of the estate body, the suspension has been stiffened with new rear spring rates and changes to the adaptive dampers. The XFR-S Sportbrake also has a recalibrated active electronic differential and comes with 20-inch Varuna alloy wheels as standard along with uprated brakes with vented discs.

So that the XFR-S sounds the part, it's fitted with a sound symposer that channels some of the induction noise into the cabin while the exhaust has straight-through pipes to create a crackle when you lift off the power. On downshifts, the engine automatically blips the throttle too and the gearbox is intelligent enough to know when you're in a corner and will hold the correct gear.

To make it stand out from the standard XFR, the R-S gets a deeper front bumper with side air intakes and extended side sills. At the back there is a deeper carbon fibre diffuser designed to reduce lift. Gloss black trim replaces the traditional chrome around the grille and side vents and there are five paint colours to choose from, Ultra Blue, Ultimate Black, Stratus Grey, Polaris White and Italian Racing Red.

Inside the XFR-S Sportbrake gets carbon effect leather on the seat bolsters and arm rests along with an 18-speaker Merdian sound system.

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