Detroit 2009: Faster Pussycat - Jaguar XFR pounces on Bonneville, hits 225 mph!

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Motorsports, Sedans/Saloons, Etc., Jaguar

Click above for high-res image gallery of the Jaguar XFR Bonneville car

In its spare time while reinventing the company and settling in with a new owner, Jaguar's boffins somehow found time to take their new XFR to the Bonneville Salt Flats for a top speed run last November.

The Paul Gentilozzi-driven XFR had been modified with the appropriate safety gear (roll cage, fire suppression system, etc.), along with a sizable low-mounted rear spoiler and a derestricted ECU that allowed the supercharger to yield around 600 horsepower thanks to a bit more boost. So-equipped, the 503-horsepower sedan blew through the double-ton to top out at 225.675 miles-per-hour, solidly trouncing the previous Jaguar land speed record of 217.1 mph set by an XJ220 at Nardo back in 1992 with Martin Brundle at the wheel. For reference, the standard XFR is electronically limited to 155 mph.

Incredibly, the Bonneville run was completed on stock Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires, and the Rocketsports-prepared XFR was still registering a bit of wheelspin at that speed. Check out the high-res, high-speed gallery below and the press release after the jump.

Gallery: Jaguar XFR Bonneville Salt Flats Racer