Jaguar saloon tops 225mph

Jaguar has revealed that the brand new Jaguar XF-R, which was just unveiled in Detroit, topped 225mph in a secret speed trial at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah - 225.675mph, to be precise.

That number makes the XF-R the fastest Jaguar ever, and puts the XF-R beyond the reach even of most supercars for outright speed. It even beat Jaguar's own iconic supercar - the XX220, which held Jag's previous record of 217.1mph, set in 1992.

It was Paul Gentilozzi (winner of five Trans Am series titles in an XKR between 2001 and 2006) that drove the XF-R to the record breaking speed. But before you place your order and start planning your trip to the German autobahn, to try it for yourself, you should know that Jaguar cheated a little.

The record breaking car had some 'minor' aerodynamic modifications according to Jaguar, and the 5.0-litre V8 had been heavily tinkered with to up the power - including a remapped ECU, revised supercharger settings and a modified air intake. Still, nothing else was changed, and the gearbox was standard. It bodes well for the XF-R when it hits showrooms in March, though owners will have to make do with a 'mere' 503bhp from their cars, and a considerably lower top speed, probably.

Green and sexy Detroit showstoppers

Mark Nichol