A car manufacturer can try its hardest to define itself, but once the public has branded it with an image, that image is usually very hard to shift. During the eighties and well into the nineties, Jaguar, despite its best attempts, was now seen as a company that continued to create cars for those who were more advanced in years and generally enjoyed a round of golf. Buyers who were more interested in a comfortable ride than cutting an apex in half, an unfortunate image that was summarily smashed with the arrival of the riotously fast XJ220 supercar.

Looking to draw in younger buyers, Jaguar revised their approach to marketing and vehicle designs, reinventing itself for the new millennium as a purveyor of fashionable, tech-laden machines like the gorgeous XF, the supercar humbling XFR-S Sportbrake, and more recently the sublime F-Pace luxury SUV.

During this journey to re-establish themselves as a place for devoted petrol-heads to park their interests, Jaguar delivered a true peach of a car, a luxuriously appointed grand tourer with the soul and willingness of a supercar. Gorgeously styled, and a rare sight on today's streets, here are 10 reasons why every gearhead should drive a Jaguar XKR-S.

10 It's A Proper Jaguar

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The second and final generation of the XK model, a car that had started as a sporting grand tourer, brought with it a return to form for Jaguar as the company as it went about correcting the errors it had made with the previous iteration.

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Far better looking and no longer an overly styled nineties interpretation of the much loved yet long passed E-Type, 2006 saw the launch of the X150, as it is known internally, a far more aggressive and modern offering.

9 Smooth, Fast, And Stylish

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Via Jaguar

Pulling in styling cues from its rich, well-defined history, the XKR-S fuses this envious heritage with advanced engineering, boasting an all-aluminum construction, uprated suspension, and raucous active exhaust system.

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Worlds apart from the longer, heavier, and now-defunct Jaguar XK8-R, the first version of the revised XKR-S, released in 2008, offered up 410hp from a supercharged 4.2-liter V8 that generated 412lb-ft of torque and a blisteringly fast top speed of 174mph.

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8 An Awesome Growling Heart

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Dusting off the XKR-S badge once again in 2011 the facelifted car now received the newest 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine that Jaguar had to offer, a snarling monster that churns out 542hp at 6500 rpm and 502lb-ft of torque.

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All that power enables the muscular cat to pounce forward and hit 60 mph in as little as 4.2 seconds before hitting 100mph in a neck-snapping 8.7 seconds, keep the throttle planted and it will happily scamper on to 186mph.

7 Too Cool For School

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Whether it be in either coupe or drop-top configurations, the XKR-S strikes an impressive pose. Purposefully muscular and proudly showing off its pedigree, this rare Jaguar exudes class, sophisticated style, and a superbly refined quality.

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Parked up next to its competition, the Jaguar wins glances from admiring eyes thanks to its ability to be resoundingly different, its badge underlining a distinct reputation for always being attached to exciting, captivating vehicles.

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6 Last Of A Dying Breed

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With only two generations of the XK ever having been created and, within those, only two iterations of the XKR-S itself, the big ferocious cat marks a significant end to a defining chapter and a truly fine example of a fast Jaguar.

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The company's fastest production car since the record-breaking XJ220, the 5.0-liter XKR-S allowed Jaguar to show that it was still capable of producing a top-flight grand-tourer, albeit one that thought it was a supercar in disguise.

5 The Ultimate Limited Edition

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Limited to a special run of only 45 units worldwide, Jaguar revealed that the XKR-S GT would be the most extreme version of their masterpiece, with it being a lighter motorsport-influenced machine boasting a massive rear wing.

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Thanks to a strict diet of carbon fiber, the GT would now rocket to 60mph in 3.9 seconds and featured ceramic brakes, a 52 mm wider track, race-inspired suspension, and was electronically limited to a generous top speed of 186mph.

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4 Pure British Beef

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The XKR-S brought with it supercar-worrying levels of performance, allowing it to go toe-to-toe with vehicles that it previously had lost a market share to, its main prey ideally being the faster examples of Porsche's 911.

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While dynamically losing out to the German coupe in the handling department, the Jaguar didn't lag far behind, plus it could tempt potential purchasers away with a far more grin-inducing experience than the clinical Porsche ever could.

3 Definitely One To Keep

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With no 2+2 replacement having yet been offered by Jaguar with which to tempt proud XKR-S owners out of their aging examples, there is simply no go-to car that ticks the same boxes that the sleek, overly muscular grand tourer does.

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Plus, if history is anything to go by, the Jaguar XKR-S will no doubt become something of a collector's item, thanks to its limited production run and the fact that it is simply a very fast characterful Jaguar that is bursting with driver appeal.

2 A Sleeping Sharp Toothed Beast

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On the face of it, an ultra-fast XKR-S could easily be mistaken for a regular XKR or, by those with less of a fast car spotting hobby, even be lumped in with a dressed-up entry model 4.2-liter XK model, giving it something of a slumbering giant appeal.

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The XKR-S, despite having a torrent of power available with the twitch of an ankle, is set up in such a way that it will happily cruise from A to B acting as a luxuriously appointed aerodynamic limousine when needed.

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1 Better Than You May Think

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Having carried something of an old-man image throughout the nineties, Jaguar has comfortably shrugged this off with their offering after the passing of the millennium, with the XKR-S proving to be a well-sorted trump card.

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Overlooked by some as not being as track sharp as its rivals the Jaguar XKR-S is not to be missed, its real-world performance levels combined with the blend of throaty powerplant and comfortable cabin are an experience that needs to be savored.