Originally Posted by Bruce H.

I think the line between the '07 cars really just boils down to the buyers performance priorities, not more aggressive grills, hood louvers or any of that silliness The guy who finds the XK's power and handling perfectly adequate isn't likely going to pay the significant premium for the XKR, and may very well discover things that he prefers about the XK, although some seem to want to improve those things after a while. If however the buyer does wants more performance than the XK offers he'll choose an XKR, or a different make and model, all assuming his choices are dictated by performance and not just budget.

But when a guy says I don't need more power "that" often, or "hardly" ever, or even mentions the quad exhaust I figure he wants the XKR but is seeing if he can talk himself out of it. I think to myself that'll be the next guy to post a question about trying to improve the performance of an XK, or ask where he can get an 'R' badge and exhaust. One guy just wanted extra fake exhaust tips so it would look like an R

So my suggestion is that if you're on the fence which to buy because you're not sure if you'll need the extra awesomeness, the smart money is on the XKR. Otherwise it may not be long until you decide you do actually crave more performance, and you'll become miserable with regret and jealousy, and start rationalizing why you bought the XK. I've never been disappointed with purchasing something a step up from what I could have probably been happy with, since I just spent a little more but got more, but I have regretted trying to save a bit of money by settling for something when I had my doubts about it.

And if I already had an XK, I'm darn sure my second XK would be an Rrrrr! But we're actually lucky to be able to choose between performance levels because back when they made my last XK it was an E-Type...and there was only one. It was all performance from skinny bumper to bumper. 4.2L straight six coupled to a 4 speed manual and limited slip diff that sling-shot it to 59 mph in 1st, 89 in 2nd, 123 in 3rd and 155 in 4th with the 3.07 rear end. It wasn't a woman's (or girlie man's) sports car because you needed a strong left leg for the clutch, and strong forearms to steer it at parking lot speeds. No power steering or automatic tranny until the V12 was introduced in '71. There was no XKE 'Light'...it was all performance or get lost.

That was the essence of the iconic thing that was considered by many to be the most beautiful sports car ever...hood louvers and all. Of course it needed them to let the intense engine heat out, something the powerful XKR generates a little of also. So when I was looking for my next XK I went for the soul I had known and loved, and found it's alive and better then ever in the XKR.

Bruce

Originally Posted by aahmichael

Bruce, I'm also guilty of loving the looks of the XKR back end, however, I'm choosing the XK because of the exquisite lines of the clean hood...even though I understand that all of you performance guys could couldn't care less about the looks of a silly *** hood! :-)

This look absolutely takes my breath away.
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Originally Posted by aahmichael

Bruce, I'm also guilty of loving the looks of the XKR back end, however, I'm choosing the XK because of the exquisite lines of the clean hood...even though I understand that all of you performance guys could couldn't care less about the looks of a silly *** hood! :-)

This look absolutely takes my breath away.
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Originally Posted by TTC

You did good mate, same colour combo as my '11 convertible!

Originally Posted by aahmichael

Hey TTC, that's not my car in the picture, and that's not the color combo I'm getting, although the Kyanite Blue is absolutely beautiful. Mine is going to be Indigo Blue, with ivory/charcoal interior.

Originally Posted by TTC

My bad, that teaches me for not reading all the posts in the thread with due care before firing off a response. Mine's actually indigo too btw, that pic fooled me. I do have a caramel interior, but ivory/ charcoal sounds great too.

Anyway, good luck with your new car, enjoy!