Jaguar XKR Convertible by Arden

When we did our Jaguar XFR Review recently we came away believing that the XFR has the measure of its German competitors, including the might BMW M5. So it would be fair to assume that the XKR equally holds its own against rivals. And in our opinion, it does.

But there are criticisms from some quarters that the Jaguar XKR doesn’t quite have the edge it should. That’s arguable in the same way that the XFR isn’t as hard as the M5. But that’s its joy. The fact that it can – and does – do what the M5 does, but does everything else – particularly the ‘bored in traffic’ bit – better is the joy of the XFR and the XKR.

But for those who want a little more; a harder edge; more power, German tuning company Arden has been having a play with the XKR Convertible to produce a sharper, more powerful car.

They’ve managed to coax an extra 30bhp out of the 5.0 litre supercharged V8, together with a jump to 498lb/ft of torque. They’ve fiddled with the chassis – in  conjunction with Bilstein – to improve the handling and dynamics and fitted a high performance stainless steel exhaust system with sports Cats.  Arden claims this improves performance and handling at low speeds. An AJ20 diffuser, surrounded by quad stainless steel pipes, completes the system.

The nose of the XKR gets a stainless steel coating and a few Arden badges are added, together with 21″ alloys. Arden are making no claims about the 0-60 time, but they do say the XKR will do 200mph.

I’m sure there’s a market for the Arden conversion. But somehow the tweaks seem to me to take away the point of the XKR.