1999 Jaguar XJR

We commoners have gone and given torque a crude, almost base connotation. Leave it to the riff-raff to take one of the great delights of premium motoring and associate it with mass-produced barley beverages, pro wrestling, and "Show us your [bosom]!" signs (wording altered for obvious reasons of propriety). This is what happens when torque is widely offered to the masses at bargain prices without the proper indoctrination in its correct and proper usage.

With an out-the-door transaction price over $70,000, Jaguar's XJR luxury-sport sedan automatically filters out any vulgar individuals who might be lurking in its would-be customer base. Nobody steps into an XJR without first developing a fine touch and a steady resolve honed by the competent handling of a high-torque financial portfolio. And while the ultra-Jag develops an entirely different type of torque, the consequences of its misuse can be every bit as devastating as, say, investing heavily in mechanical typewriter futures.

Anybody old enough to have seen "The Avengers" first airing (the 1960s series, of course, not the dreadful recent film of the same name!) will surely appreciate the XJR's (as well as Mrs. Peel's) elegant lines, the silky Connolly leather appointments, and smoky wood trim. The XJR's greatest beauty, however, is its ability to blend these luxuries with a supercharged 4.0-liter DOHC V-8 that generates a whopping 387 pound-feet of torque.