They seem to be remaking all the classic old movies these days –Beauty and the Beast, Jumanji, etc.  They ought to remake good old ads as well.  Over the years, Jaguar has come up with some brilliant TV ads, and so they should, given that the vehicles themselves are so soul-stirring.  Who could forget the series that came out in 2014 or so with the “All villains are British” video?  Or, if you look back even earlier to about 2000, to the collaboration with Sting, where you weren’t sure if you were watching the music video for “Desert Rose” or a Jaguar ad… and you were actually looking at both.  It’s about time that they remade the Desert Rose video/ad and fixed the two things that were wrong with it (a) Sting wasn’t driving the Jag in question but had a masked female chauffeur (chauffeuse?) and (b) we only got a little glimpse of what the car could do.  And they can remake it with the new Jaguar XJR 575.  (While they’re at it, they can turn that supervillains ad into a full-length movie.)

I dream of rain, elei, elei.  I dream of gardens in the desert sand…

In the looks department, the Jaguar XJR 575 still has the sleek lines that you expect a Jag to have.  It’s even smoother than the old S-type from the music video, and the standing mascot has been replaced by the more aerodynamic badge on the grille.  You don’t miss the old round headlights with the beautifully placed LED daytime running lights that surround the twin headlights – and these have been placed in a very clever double-J design and give the front end expression and personality.  Side on, the Jaguar XJR 575 is clean looking and simple, and the XJR 575 has done away with the chrome of its stablemates to emphasize the clean looks as well as to veil the possibilities.  The rear spoiler, the gloss black 20-inch split-spoke alloys and the body kit, which are exclusive to the 575, blend well into the general XJ look.  One thing that’s very pleasing about the Jaguar XJR 575 in particular is that it’s not aggressive in its appearance, in spite of what the powerplant is capable of (more on that later).   It’s subtle and keeps the scorching performance as a surprise.  The stylized J is echoed in the rear lights as well.  It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever, to misquote the poet Keats.  The Jaguar XJR 575 has 14 paint colour choices; my pick would be the dark Rosello red, although the classics like black, white, grey and British racing green are still there, along with a dazzling peacock blue (possibly the Indian influence of the owners, Tata, is showing here with this colour choice).  The overall look is organic but smooth – and downright gorgeous.

The interior in the Jaguar XJR 575 is absolutely palatial.  Even if you’re not the driver, the rear seats and the front passenger seats are comfy and well appointed, and anybody would be happy enough to be chauffeured around in this (there’s seating for five very comfortably, including the driver).  I suspect that the designers have expected that this will be a chauffeur-driven vehicle, given that there’s four-zone automatic climate control and other touches such as the rear LED reading lamps and the rear centre headrest.  All seats have the special 575 badging stitched in, as well as the diamond quilting stitches.   The carbon fibre inlays and the soft-grain leather instrument panel upper all look good with the phosphor blue interior mood lighting and in natural lighting courtesy of the wide, wide windows and the panoramic glass sunroof.  Of course, driving the Jaguar XJR 575 is even better than sitting in the back…

I dream of fire, elei, elei.  My dreams are tied to a horse that will never tire…

Fire and tireless energy won’t just be a dream inside the Jaguar XJR 575.  The beating heart of this luxury sports saloon is a 5-L supercharged V8 that’s harnessed to an 8-speed automatic transmission.  This produces a burning 423 kW of power in the 6250–6500 rpm window and delivers 700 Nm of torque at 3500–4000 rpm.  The top speed capable is 300 km/h (and that’s been limited), but please don’t do this on the open road.  The active and passive safety features (e.g. braking assistance, blind spot assistance, rear traffic detection, lane departure warning and all the airbags) are good but nothing can defy the laws of physics completely, not even those brakes with the red callipers you can catch a glimpse of.  And it would be such a shame to damage the Jaguar XJR 575 or yourself by being stupid.  You can, however, enjoy the 0–100 km/h time any time you get a clear patch of road.  It will only take 4.4 seconds of pure enjoyment.

And as she turns, elei, elei; this way she moves in the logic of all my dreams…

The Jaguar XJR 575 has been designed and balanced as a sports car, so it’s got the handling and the agility you’d expect.  You can choose from three driving modes (Normal, Winter and Dynamic), and you can also select from one of three settings for the dynamic stability control.  The Adaptive Dynamics damping control is superbly responsive (it updates itself up to 500 times per second), giving you the perfect balance between comfort and road feel.  It’s so responsive that your fingers start itching to get around the leather trimmed and heated steering wheel with the R badging.  All Jags handle nicely, but the XJR 575 takes it to the next level with electronic active differential to help you control just how and when all that raw power is delivered as you corner, accelerate, overtake, slow down and speed up.

For less dramatic manoeuvres in the Jaguar XJR 575, there are other driver aids to help you, such as 360-degree parking distance control, a surround camera system, parking assistance and the driver condition monitor, which checks that you’re not actually about to fall asleep dreaming of desert roses or anything else.  Keyless entry, keyless start, and adaptive cruise control continue to keep things easy for the driver.

You wouldn’t dream of a modern car that didn’t have a great infotainment system and connectivity.  The Jaguar XJR 575 is no exception to this rule.  It features a Meridian 20-speaker surround system that’s so beautifully crisp and clear; it’s even better than actually having Sting sitting singing in the back seat behind you.  Thanks to Jaguar’s TouchPro system, you can stream music easily from your smartphone, as it’s got complete Bluetooth integration.  Satellite navigation and voice control for radio and phone come as standard, and you can find out everything you need to know thanks to what’s displayed on the 12.3-inch touchscreen.

Even if they don’t remake any of the iconic ads using the Jaguar XJR 575 (and it’s got a lovely promo of its own with awesome footage), it’s still got the perfect combo of blistering performance and luxury – which speaks for itself.

Current model series include:

• Jaguar XJR 575

For any more information on the Jaguar XJR 575, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Jaguar