With Aston Martin having been sold to Prodrive boss David Richards (with financial backing from Kuwaiti investment groups and an American financier), Jaguar remains the sole British brand under Ford's Premier Automotive Group umbrella. The company remains intent on manufacturing luxury cars that will find a place in the hearts of buyers the world over, and it is looking to assert itself with the new XKR Portfolio, unveiled at Geneva.

This special edition of Jaguar's luxury coupé features the XKR's enhanced front bumper, bonnet louvres and aluminium-finish grilles, and new side 'power vents', which also house the side indicator and the signature Jaguar ingot. The Portfolio is finished in a specific 'Celestial Black' exterior paint to differentiate it from other XKRs.

Under the skin, the Portfolio retains the XKR's lightweight aluminium chassis construction and its 4.2-litre supercharged V8 powerplant, but revised brakes find a home behind exclusive 20-inch polished Cremona five-spoke alloy wheels. At the front, 400mm discs - an increase of 45mm over the standard XKR - are clasped by six-piston callipers (branded with an 'R' to denote their presence), while four-piston callipers and 350mm discs operate at the rear. These are the largest brakes ever fitted to a production Jaguar. The company claims the race-inspired crescent-shaped grooves cut into the discs help prevent a build-up of deposits on the pads, allowing for fade-free braking performance.

New additions to the interior further differentiate the special-edition XKR Portfolio. An 'engine-spun' aluminium veneer, alloy and leather gearshift selector and soft-grab door handles are all standard kit, as is the contrast stitching featured throughout the cabin and on the soft grain charcoal or ivory-coloured leather seats. 'Portfolio' tread plates on the doorsills complete the transformation.

Jaguar has also partnered with acoustic specialists Bowers & Wilkins to create a unique speaker system for the special edition Portfolio. The speaker system was specifically created and adapted for the XKR cabin and includes high-output, low-distortion Kevlar mid-range speakers and specially designed aluminium-dome tweeters for high-frequency tones. While the C-XF concept car was fitted with a bespoke speaker system as a concept, the Portfolio is the first production Jaguar to feature such a system.

The new Jaguar XKR Portfolio special edition is available to order from the end of March with deliveries expected later in the summer. Pricing is expected to be roughly £8,000 dearer than a current XKR.

Eric Gallina - 14 Mar 2007