Ferrari: let's have some more Dan!!! (OT)

I am convinced that any day now he's going to bust out some Ferrari; I'm
sure he'll get his hands on a 430 as soon as journalists are given the
show. For now, continue to bask in his considerable skill. This guy
could probably make a Geo Storm desirable.




RUMBLE SEAT / DAN NEIL

Looks really are everything

Jaguar's sexy XKR makes you shake with excitement. Big deal that its
chassis trembles with age.

By Dan Neil
Times Staff Writer

October 6, 2004

Let's be honest: The only reason to buy the XKR is its looks. This is
reason enough.

Never mind what the Internet tells you. This is the only aphrodisiac
that comes in capsule form. Sleek and fervent, the XKR (the
high-performance variant of the XK8) is the visual descendant of the
Jaguar E-Type, a car that in the free-love '60s prompted more shedding
of clothes than an Alabama heat wave.

The XKR isn't quite the concupiscent torpedo that the E-Type was, but
Jaguar's coupe/convertible design — now 9 years old — is still as
naughty as a game of tarts and vicars. This is not an uncommon car in
Los Angeles, and yet it lives inside a gazing nimbus of longing and
envy. People look just for the sheer decadent pleasure of looking.

As for buying one, well, that depends on how you calibrate your life. If
horsepower numbers, 0-60 mph times and lateral G-force matter most to
you — or for that matter, repair bills or resale values — then, no.

The XKR is a very expensive car. Our test model knocked on $100,000,
rivaling only the Mercedes-Benz SL500 in its class.

The XK chassis feels its age in the way it trembles over imperfect
asphalt. It certainly doesn't have the bronze-cast solidity of some of
its competitors, such as the Mercedes-Benz SL or the BMW 6-series. The
powertrain — a supercharged 4.2-liter V8 mated to a six-speed automatic
transmission — moves the car with authority, and when you dip deep into
the throttle, the supercharger emits a piping whistle that sounds like
the tea is ready. That's fun.

Our test car — a platinum XKR convertible — was utterly relaxed on
high-speed transits to Santa Barbara and back. The unequal-length A-arm
suspension front and rear, supported with coil springs and
electronically variable dampers, gives the car an oil-on-water ride
worthy of a fine grand touring car. When things get tight, however, the
car grows unhandy and seems to swell to take up more and more asphalt on
both sides of the white line. There are lolling body motions to contend
with and the steering yearns to take its own line through a corner.

What the XKR has, once the chassis settles down, is steady-state
cornering grip. Our test car came with audacious 20-inch composite alloy
rims wrapped with ultra-adhesive performance tires. These wheels — which
the BBS wheel company calls "Detroit" for inscrutable reasons — are part
of a general pimping of the ride, including a menacing mouthful of mesh
in the car's grille opening, deeper front and rear bumper fasciae with
quad tailpipe finishers, and ground-skimming rocker panels — all
tuner-car touches.

Dubs? Has the XKR become the Ali G of British GT cars?

The dubs make room for massive cross-drilled Brembo brakes with
nail-polish-red brake calipers offering the stopping power of a .308
Weatherby.

There is plenty to love on this car, including the automatic speed
limiter system; the driver can preset a speed limit so as to avoid the
unwanted attentions of the gendarmerie. The XKR also has an optional
adaptive cruise control system ($2,200) that maintains a preset distance
between it and traffic ahead. Both systems support the car's mission as
high-speed internodal transit.

Jaguar's interior textures of leather and wood are lovely, though it's
clear the car is due for an ambience overhaul. In particular, the car's
LCD navigation display — which works beautifully — is fitted inelegantly
in the central dash without any trim to set it off. The Jaguar is also
the only car in its class not to offer a mechanized tonneau under which
the powered soft-top hides.

The XKR edition gets a sprinkling of go-fast costuming, including
aluminum pedals, a Momo leather gearshift with a big red R on it and a
smaller "performance" steering wheel.

The next generation of XKs will debut in 2006, but they will not be
built at Jaguar's hallowed home of Browns Lane in Coventry. Ford
announced last month that it will close the factory as part of a
company-wide restructuring plan for Jaguar, a perennial money-loser for
Ford. Jaguar is also retreating on its projections of worldwide sales
volume; last week during the Paris auto show, Jaguar executive Mark
Fields said the company would no longer aspire to 200,000-unit sales
volume. The company also announced the ignominious withdrawal of Jaguar
from Formula 1 racing. And just this week the company received news that
its X-Type sedan fared worst among mid-size sedans in the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety's recent round of side-impact testing.

Ouch.

Jaguar North America sponsors the Jaguar Conservation Trust to protect
habitat in Central America for the big cats, but it might be that the
golden-eyed felines outlast the company named after them.

For now, the XK continues to seduce buyers with its combination of
elegance and élan, brawn and beauty. Is it the rational choice? Probably
not. But if you own one, you get to look at it every day.