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The Jaguar XJ Supersport and Aston Martin Rapide state-of-the-art mega-saloons have been pitched head-to-head.
Although they are separated by £55,000 - the short wheelbase Jaguar costs £85,000 and the Rapide £140,000 - they are very similar in many ways.
Both weigh close to 2000kg (the Jaguar about 90kg the lighter) and are a little over five metres long. Each has a large 'bent; engine mounted north-south in the nose.
But whereas the Aston has the kind of snug rear compartment you get by adding only 30cm of length to a coupe, the Jaguar has rear seats big enough for premiers and potentates, even before you specify the long wheelbase version.
On the road
In Supersports guise, the Jaguar's supercharged 5.0-litre V8 (503bhp at 600rpm) has a 10 per cent advantage over the Aston's normally-aspirated 6.0-litre V12 (469bhp at 6000rpm). The Jaguar's torque output of 461lb ft at 2500rpm just shades the Aston's 443lb ft at 5000rpm.
These figures translate into genuine high-performance. The Jaguar easily achieves the 0-60mph sprint in 4.7sec, but is limited to 155mph. The Aston achieves 0-60mph in 4.9sec, but will go on to 184mph. On the roads of Essex there was no perceivable performance difference between the two.
Full Story: Jaguar XJ v Aston Rapide - Autocar.co.uk
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