Misfire / rev-liniter in neutral

[JerryTR5]

Took the XKR ('98 X100) out of the garage for a polish and left it at idle to get to temperature. On a whim I decided to rev it for a few minutes to ensure the battery got some charge. But it wouldn't rev over about 2000rpm without a misfire. Took it out for a spin and held in various gears at various highish revs until running out of road. No misfire. No errors reported. Returned and tried again in Park and Neutral and the misfire is present.
Does the rev-limiter kick in to save damage to the gearbox when not in Drive perhaps?
I've never tried it before so cannot say if this is new.
Jerry

[J44EAG]

The limiter is there to prevent people from over-reving the engine whilst it has no load on it.

Quite a sensible idea when you think about it. In my experience the limiter sets at a lower limit when the engine is cold. All V8 models I`ve had anything to do with exhibit this protection when the car is out of gear.

Mike K

[JerryTR5]

I guessed it might be, but nice to have it confirmed, thanks.
Jerry