The carparrazzi at KGP photography have snapped what appears to be a 2010 Jaguar XF-R development mule running free in the wild. An aggressive new front air dam and a set of prominent bonnet vents signify that this is no ordinary XF. Indeed, the XF-R is bound to spearhead Jaguar’s assault on the more established players in the V8 performance sedan stakes, namely the BMW M3, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and the Lexus IS-F.

While we’ve got no clue as to what motor lives under that vented bonnet, KGP have speculated it’ll be a 5-litre V8 pushing out over 500hp. Our guess is that it’ll likely be a bored and stroked version of the XKR-S’s 416hp 4.2-litre supercharged V8, although we wouldn’t be entirely surprised if another Ford V8 managed to find it’s way into the XF-R, given the relative recency of Jaguar’s sale to Tata Motors.

Head over to Jalopnik for the spy photos.