I went to the event this past Saturday and had a great time! Of course, most of you guys are already driving something from Jaguar at this moment so you can already relate to some of this but I'll go ahead and post my observations:

Street cruise in the XJ 5.0: They took a group of 12 out on the street in XJ's of all trim levels. Kinda boring since we never got above speeds of 35 mph but I tell ya what, this car is incredible. To be as big as it is it drives like a much smaller car. Super solid road feel and driving vision all around. Materials inside are better than the S-class Benz and on par with S8 Audis. Outstanding.

Road course in the XFR: You get three laps total around the course and the final lap is the hot lap and is timed. Choice of cars are the XKR and XFR. Since my wife was with me we got in the XFR which is the car we're considering anyway. I was very surprised at how competent the XFR is. I ran it HARD and it seemed to get easier to drive at the limit (for me). Ran the course at just under 39 seconds which the instructor stated was a very good number for the sedan around the course. I'm still amazed at how maneuverable these cars are given their size. Sharp turn in's are excellent and acceleration on short and long straights was impressive.

3.0 AWD XJ on slippery course: AWD system is excellent in this car. Even at full throttle in a sharp turn on sand, the AWD system was intuitive and pulled the car through with no dramatics. The car was stable and there was no bucking even after the car completed the turn and hit dry ground. It was all executed smoothly. Went up an ice ramp at full throttle and again the AWD system smoothly applied enough power to safely roll up over the ramp. Uneven slippery ramp, same story even power distribution and total control of the car, no slippage whatsoever. One more thing: the 3.0 engine felt PRETTY STRONG.

Refinement course: Drove the XF Super on this one. Ride was a touch on the firm side but soaked up the simulated pot holes and speed bumps pretty well. Couldn't go over 15 mph on this course but the goal was to feel how solid the car was over rough road conditions. Same story in XF as in the XJ, these cars feel like tanks. I could feel how well put together these car are.

0-60 course: The XKR-S: Beautiful car! On this course, your run is videotaped and emailed to you in two business days. I'll post it when I get mine. You get lined up and go. The car was fighting for traction the first half of the run and it even tried to get away from me but I held it until it finally got traction and then it felt like you were shot out of a cannon. Again substantial feel overall and the power is just nuts in this thing. The sounds this car makes just adds to the experience.

F-Type on display: Got a chance to sit in this bad boy. As big and wide as I am (6'0, 280) once I got inside it feels like the car conforms around you. Everything is right there for you to grab. Ergonomics are excellent, materials and buttons are of high quality and again you can feel the quality from the seat of your pants. Good visibility to the hood, almost feels like you can touch it from the driver's seat. Pictures do no justice to this car. Beautiful inside and out.

Funny too, when I left I saw at least three people leave in XF Supers and XFR's. Truly impressed with the entire product line. I could drive any of those vehicles and be happy.

 

Glad you had fun. I am planning on attending the event in November in NY.

What are your plans in term of acquiring a XFR?

 

In the next six months, we'll probably pull the trigger on a 2010 or 11. My wife is really attracted to the 3.0 AWD that'll be available in the XF. Of course, I want the XFR. She drove it and the power intimidated her a little bit plus the size of the car was also new to her. Mind you, we're driving an 02 Mitsubishi Eclipse at the moment so you can understand the contrast.

 

I see an advantage of waiting 6. You might find yourself going for a 2012, since they are already in low $40s. Once the AWD comes out, people will be all over them.

 

thank you for the review, i signed up for this event and doing it Nov 3rd, im anxiously waiting

considering i own a XJ (5.0 V8)...i wont be upset with the street cruise haha....but the xkrs is what im looking forward to since im considering replacing my G37 with it.

how many 0-60 runs do you get? just one?

 

as much fun as this sounds... why not rent local tracks, cater lunch, hire driving instructors and organize Jaguar racing?

Before you say no car brand does it.... Infiniti did... picture of my G35 Sedan on 275/40/17 Kumho slicks and Mustang Bullit 17x9.5 rims. 4 times a year Infiniti of Scottsdale rents Firebird Raceway's main or west track and brings out ASA Motorsports to provide instruction. Its free if you own a Infiniti

 

^^thats more of a dealership specific event as opposed to the whole company. the reason i think this is because ive had an infiniti since 2008, ive never been once invited to such events (and im TOTALLY jealous)

also, some of the locations they are doing it at are not near local tracks....so they set up autocross events in a big parking lot.

 

Okay that is true but Infiniti NA did support it... Jag NA could do it. The Alive seems like fun but not as cool as Infinit's racing.

Infiniti sent out pre production cars to the events and staged things like traction control demos ect in the parking lot pit area.

 

So i can beat up on someone else's Jaguar and not mine.

 

I did just one but I believe you can go multiple times.

 

I pass by a house on a way to work, with a new Jaguar XJ, XKR and a Range Rover in the driveway. Ostentatious would be the correct term to use to describe the view. So, yours shouldn't be much different once you acquire the XK.

Hopefully, i will get to you see on in Flushing on the 3rd.

 

haha, ive done the multiple Jag thing before....i had a 2003 Vanden Plas and a 2005 X-Type at the same time.........and for a brief 2 days I had a 2005 Vanden Plas while i was waiting to return the 03 VP

needless to say it was a sight to see

 

But is it REALLY beating up the car to drive it at the limit? My G saw 5 track day events and was drag raced at least monthly at one of our 1/4 mile tracks. I got rid of it at 123k miles and never had a failure.

I did cook a lot of brakes but you can do rotors and pads for $300, or just pads for $100 so who cares. If I hadn't ran slicks I would have not cooked the brakes, the slicks let you carry a lot more speed.

I would rather drive my own car to see what its limits are especially if I had a exhaust, pulley, air filter, tune or tires that were supposedly better than stock.

When I go drag racing on a Saturday night you can have 10-20 runs down the track depending on how many people show up. I justified it to my wife as 10-20 'getting on the freeway' events where holding it into 4th gear doesn't end with a ticket.

I think what Jaguar is doing is Great! but its not as good as what Infiniti did. For a brand that is supposedly better time to catch up.

 

Every joint in the suspension takes beating. Also, as you mentioned, the rotors and pads. That can get costly, since i have made a decision long time ago to maintain vehicles with OEM parts and nothing else.
Tires, that can get costly.

Don't get me wrong, i love apexing corners with verve. I think road racing is one of the best motorsports around.

Drag racing on the other hand, don't care for.

By the way, Jaguar runs the R academy.