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We dropped the top in defiance of autumn’s misty, cool weather. Our reasoning was simple. We were driving the 2007 Jaguar XKR convertible, the apex of the Jaguar XK line. It had more power, luxury, sex and sass than the base XK models we drove in South Africa earlier in the year. It begged to be driven topless. Weather didn’t matter. We complied.

And this, my friends, is the trouble with restraint — with noble beliefs and intentions of any sort. They are no match for lust. They easily are set aside for the moment’s pleasures and brought back for contrite and penitential reflection when the moment has passed.

Politicians and priests understand this. So do saints and sinners. It is why the churches of my Roman Catholic faith have confessionals, why psychiatrists make so much money, and why there is such an abundance of meaty gossip feeding celebrity magazines and 24-hour news operations.

Lust!

And what better place to find it, to sample its dimensions at speed, than behind the steering wheel of an impressively endowed, 420-horsepower, supercharged V-8 convertible?

Did we consider that this car, a grand work of aluminum construction, consumed one gallon of premium gasoline for every 17 miles driven in the city and every 24 miles driven on the highway — for a combined city/highway mileage of 19 miles per gallon? We thought about it in passing, usually in highway lane changes at about 70 miles per hour.

Did it matter to us that the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency say the rear-wheel-drive XKR convertible, much like the rear-wheel-drive Jaguar XJR sedan, consumes the equivalent of 16.3 barrels of crude oil a year? No, we didn’t think about that. We looked it up after driving the XKR as long and as hard as possible. It was a sobering statistic. But, alas, sobriety also competes poorly against lust, especially lust accompanied by prestige, envy, pride and the illusion of carefree life.

What can we say? This was a stunningly beautiful convertible. A crowd gathered around everywhere we parked. Other motorists changed lanes to drive alongside us and take a peek. Some motorists exhibited the most miserable Jaguar envy — deliberately pulling up behind the XKR, practically tailgating, and then abruptly swinging into an adjacent lane, and then cutting in front, cutting us off.

We remained cool. Why not? The XKR has lots of gusto. Its engine can growl with the passion of a hungry cat. But the XKR, like its other high-end Jaguar siblings, is not about power, per se. It’s about attitude, elegance, sensuality. It doesn’t chase the thrill. It pampers and plays a bit. It seduces and then surprises.

The XKR is not about practicality. Its rear seats are marginally accommodating for people over five feet tall. Its trunk has 10 cubic feet of cargo space, enough for a set of golf clubs, or maybe for two soft-pack overnight bags.

We’re not talking a family mobile here. We’re talking escape pod — something to aid the flight from daily concerns, from the mundane plodding of the world. In that context, the XKR is a true “dream machine.”

We had friends and family who asked for rides in the XKR just to get away. Ria Manglapus, who assists me in test drives, tells this story: “I have a girlfriend who has three children. She’s always busy, running and doing things for her family. She seldom takes time for herself. But we went for a ride in the XKR. You should have seen the smile on her face, like she had gone to another world.”

And there was this: My wife, Mary Anne, drove the car to a weekday Mass. Weekday services usually last 30 minutes. Mary Anne was gone for 90. There must’ve been a long sermon. I didn’t ask.

Nuts & Bolts
2007 Jaguar XKR

Complaint: This is more a statement of reality than it is a criticism. Although the new Jaguar XK cars are larger than their predecessors of a decade ago, they all remain wonderfully impractical machines. Their aluminum construction greatly reduces vehicle weight, but the new XK cars are also more powerful, which means they consume lots of fuel relative to their ability to haul people and things. If you accept that, and if you don’t mind base prices ranging from $74,835 to $91,835, you’re okay.

Head-turning quotient: Stunning.

Ride, acceleration and handling: The ride is excellent. How could it be otherwise with seats of soft-grain leather riding atop Jaguar’s Computer Active Technology Suspension, which automatically compensates for the numerous imperfections of city streets and highways in the United States?

Body style/layout: The XKR is a full-size, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, aluminum-body, two-door convertible with a power top and four seats.

Engine/transmission: The car comes with an Eaton supercharged 4.2-liter, 32-valve V-8 that develops 420 horsepower at 6,000 revolutions per minute and 413 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 rpm. By comparison, the normally aspirated V-8 in the Jaguar XK develops 300 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 310 foot-pounds of torque at 4,100 rpm. Both engines are linked to six-speed automatic transmissions that also can be shifted manually.

Capacities: There is seating for four, but rear passengers get squeezed. Cargo capacity is a scant 10 cubic feet. The fuel tank holds 18.8 gallons of required premium unleaded gasoline.

Mileage: You’re looking at 17 miles per gallon in the city, 24 miles on the highway.

Safety: Body construction is rigid. Standard equipment includes four-wheel antilock brakes; traction and stability control; high-strength, sensor-controlled, rollover-protection aluminum hoops; and side air bags.

Price: Base price on the 2007 Jaguar XKR is $91,835. Dealer’s invoice price on base model is $83,570. Price as tested is $99,675, including $7,175 in options and a $665 destination charge. Dealer’s price as tested is $90,334.

Purse-strings note: Category competitors, such as the Cadillac XLR-V convertible, start at $97,460. Others, such as the Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG, start at $125,000. By comparison, gulp, the 2007 Jaguar XKR looks like a bargain.