Jaguar XKR-S Convertible: This Is It

The Los Angeles Auto Show's a great place to show a convertible because L.A. is a great place to drive a convertible roughly 357.4 days a year. And what better drop-top to unveil early than the Jaguar XKR-S convertible, the fastest, meanest Jaaaaaaag convertible ever?

Yes, while the rest of the auto media is out getting slowly stoned on some else's expense account I'm here, in front of the computer, waiting for people to bust embargoes. Tonight's entree comes courtesy of AutoExpress, who either made some sort of deal with Jag to release the photos early or just confused EST and PST.

Either way, here are the dramatic first shots of the XKR-S Convertible with a bonus AutoExpress watermark. Like its XKR-S Coupe sibling, the roadster gets a 542 horsepower five-oh V8 to back up its angry vanilla ice body.

And did I mention the convertible manages the same 186 mph top speed and 4.2-second 0-to-60 mph time despite added weight? Well, I just did. If the base XKR convertible is a smooth and sexy pussycat, the XKR-S's vent-and-duct heavy nose makes the new Jag more of an angry beaver.

The nicest touch might actually be the replacement of the chrome trim with a matte black look. It's a subtle but ingenious trick that makes the XKR-S convertible stand out without being flashy.

Owning such a mean piece of Indo-British kit means forking over roughly $162K, which is roughly half the price of all the tea in Indian.