Released from Ford’s dominance, Jaguar found a new way to improve its cars and offered a heavily revised XKR in 2009.
Jaguar was back! The British brand brought a facelifted version of the XKR at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in both forms as a convertible and coupe. The new management decided to invest more in the engineering department, and the new GT was not only sportier but also looked better.

The coupe showed a new set of headlights and a new bumper that included a mesh-grille in the lower apron from the outside. The elliptic grille placed in front of the radiator resembled the one installed on the legendary E-Type. Jaguar’s design team kept the hoods vents as a statement for the performance version, and in the rear, it added a trunk-spoiler. To complete the sporty image, the team insisted on keeping the four-exhaust system.

Inside, the carmaker installed the gear selector’s rotary silver wheel carried over from its four-door sibling, the XF. Inside the instrument cluster, a TFT display stood between the tachometer and speedometer. Depending on the options, the XKR featured either wood or aluminum trims on the door panels and the center stack.

Under the hood, Jaguar installed a completely new 5.0-liter V8 supercharged engine. It offered 23% more power and 12 percent more torque than its predecessor. It was paired as standard to a 6-speed automatic gearbox with paddle-shifters behind the steering wheel.