Jaguar XF-R smokes Goodwood

Jaguar sneakily slid its new XF-R performance flagship under the noses of thousands of spectators at the Festival of Speed this weekend.

The new XF-R, thought to be using a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 with around 500bhp was driven up the hillclimb course in the supercar category.

The black cat didn't entirely give the game away, it wearing some disguising to tease the crowd as to the modifications made to the body.

What is clear though is that the new high-performance XF will come with a much deeper front bumper punctured with large cooling ducts for its mighty engine.

Exuberantly driven by Jaguar's Head of Vehicle Development, Mike Cross, the XF-R spent most of the time going sideways and producing lots of tyre-smoke.

The XF-R is just one of a number of new models expected from Jaguar.

Expected to be seen fully undisguised - though a little less sideways - at the British Motor Show next week, the new XF-R should be in Jaguar showrooms by the end of the year.

Kyle Fortune