You can feel the power in the leather-trimmed seats and with your hands on the wheel as the 5.0-liter supercharged engine idles, waiting to pounce. With the help of direct fuel injection, the beast produces 510-hp at 6,000 rpm and 461 pound-feet of torque at 2,500 rpm.

Switching off stability control is like taking the leash off a jaguar who has spotted his prey. His rear begins to wiggle and then the rear tires cannot hold onto the road. Zero to 60 takes only 4.4 seconds, 0-100 in 9.8 seconds. Yes, it is neck-jarring and grin producing. No, it won't beat the 6.2-liter Cadillac CTS-V in a zero-to-60 or zero-to-100 sprint. But it's dang close.

Stopping the animal is accomplished by bigger brakes that lurk behind the 20-inch wheels. Beyond great acceleration and crisp braking, XFR is race-ready with 30-percent stiffer springs and 25 percent stiffer antiroll bars. Jag also put together a quicker steering rack for the R. Still, the R's overall steering feel was not as precise as some of its foes, namely that spritely CTS-V, and BMW's M5 and Mercedes' E63 AMG.

On the road and in the turns the XFR is well balanced and offers confident road handling. And the ride quality and road feel is superb, controlled and enhanced by automatically-adjusted suspension damper settings.

The six-speed automatic tranny is smooth in the upshifts, not quite so on the downs. Paddle shifters give the driver a little more regulatory authority. However, you may find the paddles a little slow to the punch. I'd just hit the sport mode and let the automatic take over.

I hate to get this far into the column without mention of this cat's looks? How neglectful. The XFR is, in my personal view, the sharpest-looking in all its class, and that includes the CTS with which I could almost have a relationship. The R's front bumper has larger inlets than the XF to satisfy the twin intercoolers, plus quad exhausts. Engraved on the hood vents and wheels: "Supercharged." Its impressive looks continue inside, with a freshened interior that features aluminum mesh and alcantara headliner. Soft-grain leather sport seats get electrically-adjusted side bolsters that keep you in the buckets on twisty roads or, for some, annoy the ribcage with added pressure.

Headroom and legroom are good up front, decent enough in the rear for under six-footers. Trunk space should bring no complaints, though, offering 17 cubic feet. The XFR gets all the same interior goodies as the XF luxury models, including rear parking sensors, 10-way power seats with memory, satellite radio and nine-speaker stereo with six-CD changer.

A Vision package adds to the rear-parking system with front sensors, a rear-view camera and even a truly effective blind-spot warning system.

For safety, XFR offers standard ABS with brake assist, stability and traction control, front-seat side air bags, side-curtain air bags, and active front head restraints.

For sheer excellence in handling and performance, it is worth taking the BMW, Mercedes and Cadillac for a comparison test. But there remains a mystique about a Jaguar and its beauty, and some will simply fall in love with it. For those, the XFR offers the top-line power and performance that driving enthusiasts may say has been missing in the cat. Despite the extra noise-reducing efforts by Jaguar, this cat does not purr, it growls.

Base price: $80,000