GENEVA - Jaguar has European début of the XFR-S and F-Type movie to watch

• Jaguar XFR-S makes its European debut on the Geneva showstand
• F-TYPE celebratory speed run in Jabbeke, Belgium, covering the 0-179-0mph sprint in less than 2 miles
• Full trailer of Desire film released featuring Damian Lewis and the Jaguar
  F-TYPE, with the soundtrack by Lana Del Rey

XFR-S European Debut

The Jaguar XFR-S, the fastest and most powerful saloon in the company’s history, makes its European debut at the Geneva Auto Salon today.

Using the same highly-acclaimed 550PS 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine as the
XKR-S, the new sports-saloon is capable of reaching 100km/h in 4.6 seconds from a standing start and can go on to an impressive 300km/h top speed.

On unveiling the XFR-S Adrian Hallmark commented: “This is the fastest and most powerful saloon Jaguar has ever produced, and today we're delighted to share its European debut with you. This is a car of incredible potency, with a visceral blend of power, driver involvement and control.”

The XFR-S is available to order now, priced in the UK at £79,995.

Jabbeke

In 1953, Jaguar’s legendary test driver Norman Dewis drove a modified Jaguar XK 120* to a new world record average speed over a flying mile of 172.4mph.

Sixty years later, on Saturday March 2^nd 2013, Jaguar returned to Jabbeke** for another sprint test, this time with a new Jaguar F-TYPE V8S and 1988 Le Mans 24 hour race-winning driver Andy Wallace. With just two miles available to Wallace to explore the
F-TYPE’s straight-line speed from a standing start, and bring it to a stop again, the car hit almost 180mph*** and achieved 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in an impressive 4.2 seconds.

Marking the return of Jaguar to the Belgian proving roads, Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director, said: “The original Jabbeke sprint runs marked the start of an exciting chapter in our history. The XK 120 combined seductive design and innovative technologies with incredible sporting performance, as Norman Dewis proved on that famous day in 1953.

“Those core elements of our DNA are embodied in the new Jaguar F-TYPE, and I can think of no more fitting way to pay tribute to the achievement of one of our most famous roadsters than to return to Jabbeke to celebrate the successful test and set a new Jaguar benchmark.”

This celebratory event marked the beginning of an epic drive event in which classic Jaguar XK 120, C-type, D-type and E-type sports cars joined the new 495 PS F-TYPE in a ‘Jaguar Bloodline’ sports car convoy en route to Geneva, Switzerland, prior to this year’s 2013 Auto Salon, where the new F-TYPE takes pride of place on the Jaguar stand.

Over the course of the journey from Jabbeke to Geneva, an identical F-TYPE V8 S to the one used for the speed run was driven the 519-miles (835km) by a specialist in frugal driving, recording an impressively low average fuel consumption of 35.6mpg (7.9l/100km)

Desire

To help celebrate the arrival of Jaguar’s first new sports car in more than 50 years, a unique cinematic collaboration has been created, produced by Ridley Scott Associates and soundtrack performed by Lana Del Rey.

The film, co-starring Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actor Damian Lewis, is entitled ‘Desire’: the emotion you feel when you encounter the new F-TYPE.

LANA DEL REY RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FOR NEW TRACK ‘BURNING DESIRE’

SONG ALSO SET TO APPEAR AS SOUNDTRACK FOR NEW SHORT FILM BY JAGUAR AND RIDLEY SCOTT ASSOCIATES

Brit and Ivor Novello award winner Lana Del Rey today released the video for ‘Burning Desire’. It was written and composed by the singer songwriter and will feature as the title track to a special film called ‘Desire’ starring Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis, which has been created by Jaguar and the award winning producers Ridley Scott Associates.

The ‘Burning Desire’ music video was filmed on location in South East London at the infamous Rivoli Ballroom, a Grade II listed former cinema that was transformed in the 1950s and is the only remaining intact ballroom from its period in London.

The distinctive venue’s eclectic mix of neo-classical, deco style perfectly complements Lana’s original style. In the video she is seen wearing a vintage Ghost floor length silk dress as she performs the track.

Lana Del Rey said: “Film has always been so precious to me and I’m so proud to be a part of what Jaguar have envisioned for their new car with Damian Lewis. Making art means making tough decisions. I do believe you create your own life path and that you will be rewarded for following your passions – and sticking to it. It’s just good to know now, with people like Jaguar and working with them, that I’m not the only one out there with such strident, creative beliefs.”

Lana Del Rey’s collaboration with the luxury car brand was first announced last September, with the singer performing the song for the first and only time to an exclusive and intimate audience at Paris’s Musée Rodin at the global reveal of the F-TYPE. The F-TYPE is the first two-seater sports car from Jaguar since the iconic E-type was launched 50 years ago.

Ian Armstrong, Global Marketing Communications Director, Jaguar said: “Lana Del Rey is a world-class singer songwriter. In this video, she has used her unique ability to conjure, reflect and then reinterpret an aesthetic from a different era both for herself and for the F-TYPE.”

The film that features the track tells the story of Clark (Damian Lewis), who delivers cars for a living, running into trouble after a chance encounter with a mysterious, young woman (Shannyn Sossamon) in the middle of a lawless desert. Directed by Adam Smith, this is a story of betrayal, retribution, passion and greed. The film will be released in spring 2013.