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Put a gun to my head, hand over a winning lottery ticket and tell me to go out and bring back the best grand touring sports car money can buy, and I may just return with a Jaguar XK. Ask for the best large or midsize luxury saloon, however, and you will not get a car crowned by a leaping jungle cat. Read Dan Roth's review of the 2007 Jaguar XK Convertible, and you'll wonder just how the current XJ, S-Type and X-Type can be sold under the same brand as the XK Coupe and Convertible.

So what happens when you add an "R" to the XK? For one, the price jumps by $11,000 to $92,500. Aside from that, the high-performance version of Jaguar's sexy drop top kicks things up a notch from mild to medium strength. As good as the XK is, does the additional consonant make that big of a difference?

Jaguar North America chose the upmarket automotive aura surrounding Pebble Beach this weekend to announce the U.S. pricing for its new supercharged 2007 XKR Coupe and Convertible.

Pricing for the Coupe will start at $86,500, while the Convertible version starts at $92,500.

In Thursday's announcement, the 420 hp XKR models were described as, "sensational cars to drive that define the road...the 2007 XKR provides those who have an affinity for power and luxury, the combination of exhilaration and refinement."

Standard XKR features include:

• enhanced ride and handling via uprated springs and dampers, plus a recalibrated active technology suspension system
• six-speed automatic with paddle shifters ("shifts in milliseconds")
  
• the aforementioned supercharged V8, good for 0-60 in 4.9 seconds
• an Active Exhaust System - quiet at cruise, but pleasingly loud under hard acceleration
• unique styling features
• unique aluminum "weave" design interior trim (more traditional Poplar or Walnut veneer trim is a no-cost option)
  
• performance brakes
• 'R' sports seats
• 19-inch wheels
• adaptive front lighting

XKR options include a Luxury Package at $2,100 (upgraded leather, 16-way power seats, leather-trimmed instrument panel), a Premium Sound Package at $1,875 (Alpine 525-watt, 8-speaker system with SIRIUS satellite radio), and a radar-based Adaptive Cruise Control system at $2,200.

For more information on the big cat, check out our earlier posts, here and here.

[Source: Ford]