Page 1 of 1 The most powerful road-going Jaguar convertible ever - the 550 horsepower XK-RS concept car - was unleashed at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show today. Developed by Michigan-based Rocketsports Racing in cooperation with Jaguar North America, the XK-RS concept demonstrates how Jaguar's luxury GT road car can be transformed into a thundering 200-mph supercar.
Engineers at Rocketsports' Lansing, Michigan workshop took the already-potent Jaguar AJ-V8 Trans-Am race engine and increased its displacement by stroking it out from 4.5 liters to 5.0 liters. To ensure drivability, the engineers reinstalled an Eaton Supercharger to deliver an estimated 550 bhp and 500 lb. ft. of torque, giving the car the power to accelerate from standstill to 60 mph in under four seconds, and take it to a top speed of 200 mph.
To make the car more involving for the sports car enthusiast, the standard six-speed ZF automatic transmission was replaced with a five-speed manual transaxle. Re-positioning the driveline weight to the rear of the car also results in a perfect 50:50 weight balance for improved handling. Rocketsports also used the team's considerable expertise in high-speed aerodynamics with its Jaguar XKR Trans-Am race cars, modifying the production XKR's body to ensure ground-hugging stability at very high speeds.
Inside, the XK-RS features body-hugging Johnson Controls 'Leap' seats clad in black leather with medium grey inserts. Page 1 of 1
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XK-RS
The most powerful road-going Jaguar convertible ever - the 550 horsepower XK-RS concept car - was unleashed at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show today. Developed by Michigan-based Rocketsports Racing in cooperation with Jaguar North America, the XK-RS concept demonstrates how Jaguar's luxury GT road car can be transformed into a thundering 200-mph supercar.