click above image for more pics of the Jaguar XKR with JaguarDrive

The spies at KGP Photography have been trying to capture Jaguar's new JaguarDrive transmission selector interface all week, and until today the best view they got was almost completely covered by an engineer's hand. Finally, however, the engineers in charge of keeping the XKR test mule under wraps slipped up. These shots show the production version of the JaguarDrive transmission selector that was first shown on the C-XF Concept and was though to be destined for just the productoin XF sedan. These spy shots seem to indicate that Jaguar is planning to introduce the new interface on other models, including the XKR.

Exactly how the shifter works isn't clear, but the flat face contains a round dial that we think will somehow raise into the palm of the driver's hand when the car is started. In fact, the dial may not so much rise up as the rings around it retreat so that surface remains flat. A turn of the dial, it would seem, selects the PRND of your choice. There are four buttons below the dial that presumably allow one to change the suspension and shift settings of the car. The two lowest buttons are difficult to make out, but of the two upper buttons, one is clearly marked DSC and the other displays a checkered flag that likely denotes a setting for track use.

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[Photos: KGP Photography]




Jaguar described the new transmission selector in its press release for the C-XF Concept. It states, "Sink into the C-XF driver's seat and a jewel-like Power button pulses on the centre console - its rhythm representing the 'heartbeat' of the car. Press the button and beneath your hand concentric aluminium rings spiral downwards to allow the new circular JaguarDrive Selector to nestle directly in your palm."

KGP is confident that we'll see the JaguarDrive in other models besides the upcoming XF sedan and the XKR, though it may be rolled out on the most premium models first. It's certainly a trick piece of tech that gives Jaguar something no other brand has, but does it offer any real value beyond its high-tech look and gotta-have-it factor? That's something we won't know until Jaguar officially debuts the feature in the near future.