Jaguar XKR
  • Jaguar XKR

Jaguar XKR

Film – Die Another Day

Overview
Zao’s Jaguar XKR is an arsenal on wheels and proves to be a formidable rival to Bond’s Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in a chase on the frozen lake in Iceland. When Bond escapes his captor Zao in the Ice Palace, they both take to their vehicles for a high-speed chase across the frozen lake. Xao’s green Jaguar combines Formula 1 technology with phenomenal military hardware. The XKR has a seemingly inexhaustible supply of weapons and the chase is explosive, with neither gaining the upper hand. The drivers enter the Ice Palace and 007 tricks Zao into crashing his car over the edge of a balcony, breaking the ice in the process. Zao emerges from the sinking XKR but Bond fires a single shot to sever a cable holding a giant ice chandelier, which falls and implies the terrorist. 

Features
Mini gun – An electronically controlled miniature Gatling gun rises into position behind the driving seat, fires over the windscreen and retracts. It can rotate through 360 degrees to hit targets in every direction.

Mini missiles – Eighteen unguided mini missiles fire from behind the retractable front radiator grille. 

Mortars & rocket launchers – The boot compartment is armed for attacks on long-range targets. The boots opens smoothly to fire nine high-explosive aerial bombs. The lowers sections of the door panels on each side drop down to reveal three guided Sidewinder missiles. 

Ramming prongs – Two steel spikes, each around one metre in length, extend from the front grille for use as battering rams. 

Thermal Imaging System – The XKR’s thermal imaging system allows Zao to track the Vanquish even when Bond has activated his car’s ‘adaptive camouflage’. Control buttons for the XKR’s miniature gun, missies, radar, mortars and rams are positioned around the imaging display screen.

Wheels – Alloy wheels are upgraded with snow-chain tyre grips. The metal grating and bands of spikes give the Jaguar the necessary traction to traverse ice at speed. 

Trivia
Launched in 1998, the XKR had a supercharged version of the engine found in the XK8. In Die Another Day, no fewer than eight XKRs were used.