Porsche Cayman, Jaguar XK8, Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Jaguar teased us with its ASC concept at the Detroit show, saying it was close to the real thing, and, as these scoop pictures reveal, the production version of the all-new XK8 coupe will differ only in detail.

As predicted, the production XK8 gets slightly less flamboyant bumpers front and rear. The rear plate pocket is considerably wider, there are two real dual exhausts in place of the show car's oval pipes in the middle of the tail, and the production car has its center high-mounted stoplight in the rear spoiler. At the front, spotlights replace the aggressive aluminum scoops, but the side scoops--said to be a future Jaguar styling signature--remain. Jaguar reportedly has bumped its naturally aspirated DOHC 4.2-liter V-8 to about 325 horsepower and the supercharged XK8-R to 450 horsepower, a nice neighborhood, indeed. There's also talk of a specially tuned XKR-R making even more horsepower when the car bows as a 2007 model. Insiders hint the 4.2-liter engine may be stretched to 4.7 liters and get direct injection by 2010.

Originally planned as a 2006 model, the XK8 will be built on a new aluminum platform shared with the XJ sedan.