Jaguar must not be pleased to have been outdone by BMW with their M5, so they took the XFR and tried to make it match its German rival’s performance. The end result is the XFR-S, and with 550hp on tap, it’s probably Jaguar’s most outrageous road-legal model since the almost failed attempt at making the XJ220 supercar.

Now, MotorTrend has sat behind the wheel of this fastest of Jags and taken it from the Sebring International Raceway in Florida, an old track steeped in motorsport tradition, to a much newer one that just opened in November of last year – Circuit of the Americas. Set in Austin, Texas, it was built specifically as a suitable place for Formula One to return to the US.

Driving the car cross-country, MT’s Arthur St. Antoine praises it for still being a comfortable cruiser, despite being around 30 percent stiffer than the regular XFR. He says that it offers a unique Jaguar-esque combination of an excellent ride, handling and straight-line performance.

Upon reaching the Circuit of the Americas, the car is handed over to pro driver Randy Pobst who manages to push the Jag around the 5.5 km (3.4 mile-) long track in 2:39.16. It would be nice to have a BMW M5 do a run, and compare times, to see just how close Jaguar has come.

However, before reaching his destination, St. Antoine drag races the car against an American legend, then stops in New Orleans, where he shows it off and finally eats some deep-fried beignets, a powder sugar-covered local specialty.

Scroll down and check out the video in its entirety, and don’t forget all of the 1,200 miles (1,920 km) were driven with the ear-shattering V8 noise you hear in the second video, courtesy of YouTube’s Shmee150.

By Andrei Nedelea

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