2015 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe – Salavation Road (Part 1)

2015 Jaguar F-Type R Coupe – Salavation Road (Part 1)

F-Type R Coupe Is A Mouth-Watering Addition To An Improving Model Lineup

The Supercharged V8'S bellow accompanies the tearing noise of air being brutally shred­ded as the Jaguar F-Type R coupe passes the Circuit de Catalunya's main grand­stand. By the time it reaches the braking mark at the end of the long start and finish straight of this track near Barcelona, it hits 140 mph, maybe more.

The Jaguar F-Type convertible remains the company's purest expression
of lifestyle fun and expendable income

On the other side of the pit wall, the sound of speed receding, Ian Hoban pulls out his iPhone. After a short search, the Jaguar vehicle-line director finds the image he's looking for—Hoban had been driving a pre-production F-Type R coupe over the winter holiday break and has photographic evidence of the car's carrying capacity. The executive's snapshot shows a bulky Callaway golf bag fitting neatly in the Jaguar's trunk.

However you look at it, the R coupe ex­pands the F-Type's breadth of capability. That "R" in its name signifies the 542-hp version of Jaguar's supercharged 5.0-liter V8 in its shapely snout. This is a 54-hp increase over the same-size engine in the S convertible, enough to shave a couple tenths from the company-claimed 0-60-mph time. In addition to a 4.0-second po­tential for the standing-start acceleration benchmark, the R also features technology to make the most of the engine's big-time torque. Its 502-lb-ft maximum is delivered across a broad rev range, all the way from 2,500 to 5,500 rpm. Alone among the F-Type lineup, the R coupe is equipped with a second-generation version of Jaguar's Electronic Active Differential, working in harmony with a system designed to en­hance handling agility with precision-metered brake applications. It's the first time Jaguar has used the latter technology.

The R coupe ex­pands the F-Type's breadth of capability

Even though the R coupe's claimed 7 minute, 39 second Nurburgring lap time is impressive, even more useful is the added practicality it shares with all other F-Type coupes. The cargo area's 11-cubic-foot capacity isn't huge—with all due respect to Hoban's example—but it's a massive improvement over the convertible's potentially deal-breaking 7 cubic feet.

Moving from the objective to the sub­jective sphere, many eyes find more beau­ty in the coupe's form than the convert­ible's. The arch of its roofline and the way its cabin tapers into the car's tail, empha­sizing its deep-drawn aluminum haunch­es, adds an extra helping of visual appeal.

The car's ogle zone is also a technical triumph. Jaguar's engineers claim the F-Type coupe's single-piece side pushes aluminum-stamping technology to the absolute limit. No other carmaker could cold-form such an extreme shape, they say. The side panels also conceal other im-portant aluminum pieces. Behind the curv-ing roof rails, hydroformed beams tie the car's front and rear together, structurally speaking. The A-pillar base joins with the strong area aft of the die-cast aluminum pieces supporting the front suspension. At the back, the beam connects with the rear-cabin bulkhead and the structure around the rear-suspension anchorages.

Thanks to this sturdy concealed compo­nent, the coupe is able to meet America's latest roof-crush-resistance requirement, a new test more than tripling the load a closed car's roof must be able to bear. Perhaps the only disappointing thing about the Jaguar's body is, despite an all­aluminum construction, it's not especially light. At 3,671 pounds, the R is the weight­iest F-Type coupe. Like other versions, it's only around 40 pounds lighter than its convertible equivalent.

The F-Type coupe is only around 40 pounds lighter than its convertible equivalent

According to vehicle-line director Hoban, the F-Type coupe is 80 percent stiffer in torsion than the convertible. It's also the stiffest production Jaguar ever, "by some margin." It would be criminally negligent to not take advantage of such outstanding rigidity. That explains Jaguar's decision to bring out only the R coupe for its long-range Spain preview. It's the obvious pick to emphasize the body structure-stiffness benefits, always the foundation for accomplished dynamics.

The R coupes at Circuit de Catalunya are pre-production examples, a half-and-half mix of cars with standard brakes and Jaguar's optional carbon-ceramic discs. Engineers on hand say the prototypes' pow-ertrain and chassis calibrations are 100 percent repre-sentative of the finished product. The only work remaining for full-scale production involves verifying diagnostic-system software and fine-tuning panel fit.