BIG Jaguars have a place of their own in Britain's automotive aristocracy and the latest version is the most powerful ever.

Costing a shade under £100,000 the new Jaguar XJR is as pure a sports saloon as anyone can imagine.

With a five-litre supercharged V8 engine purring away under the bonnet it is ready to unleash massive performance on demand.

Dial dynamic mode into the car's computerised ride settings, select sport on the eight speed auto box and 0 to 60 can be completed in less than 4.4 seconds.

Top speed is ‘restricted' to 174mph which just goes to show what Jaguar's engineers can achieve in this day and age.

There's 550bhp on tap and as with any big Jag it's got a thirst yet 24 to the gallon on average is relatively respectable for a luxurious limo with such performance.

Jaguar claims an official fuel return of 24.4mpg with a CO2 rating of 270g/km and that's almost exactly what we achieved when putting this super cat through its paces.

Up against the likes of the Mercedes S63 AMG and the Audi S8, the new XJR is priced from £92,370 and comes with traditional traits that only a British car can deliver.

Fine hide, high gloss wooden trim and chrome inserts set off the cockpit which is festooned with R logos denoting its high performance lineage. They're on the steering wheel, embossed in the seat backs and even appear on the colour touchscreen in the centre of the dash.

High tech abounds. On the TFT instrument panel a Jaguar ‘leaper' emblem appears as the door is opened giving way to a virtual instrument panel at the push of the starter button.

Switch on the dynamic settings to make the car come alive and the instruments glow red as a hint of what's to come.

Under acceleration there is just the right amount of roar from the exhausts and engine - rewarding but not intrusive.

It's not as loud as some of its competitors and the ride of the XJR is refined, agile and precise, aided by an active differential which enhances grip.

Compared to the standard XJ the R has a thrill of its own which puts it at the top of the Jaguar tree.

From the outside its potency is denoted by air vents in the bonnet, red brake callipers, a carbon fibre spoiler subtly placed on the boot and a black honeycomb radiator grille with chrome surround.

R motifs appear on the grille, the boot and even under the bonnet on top of the engine.

The car we tried tipped the scales at £97,635 thanks to extras such as adaptive cruise control, a carbon fibre engine cover and 20-inch alloys yet in this league that's very competitive.

To drive, the XJR is a magnificent machine and in every way it is a worthy flagship to Jaguar's saloon car line up.