Jaguar F-type Convertible Sports Car (Part 2)

Performance

When we drove all three variants of the F-type on the car’s international launch, we were fairly blown away by the V8 S’s performance. And here’s why: the supercharged engine’s 488bhp and 460lb ft are, it turns out, good enough for a 4.0sec 0-60mph time and 0-100mph in 9.4sec. And that was on asphalt that wasn’t completely dry or warm. Two up. With a full tank of fuel.

The F-type blends sharp dynamics with a compliant ride

In optimized conditions, then, it’s feasible that the F-type could nudge into a time starting with a ‘3’, which is faintly ludicrous given that it never feels like a car that is blessed with a surplus of traction. There are none of the advantages of four-wheel drive or a mid or rear-mounted engine, just a 52 per cent front/48 per cent rear weight distribution and a shedload of power and torque.

The V8 S dispatches a standing quarter mile in 12.3sec at 116mph and a standing kilometer in 22.3sec with a terminal speed of 149mph. All are quicker than a Mercedes SL500 by a few valuable tenths, but in isolation the Jaguar feels even quicker, because of the nature of its delivery.

The pops and bangs on the overrun of this car have to be heard to be believed

It’s the urgency and the noise, we’ve concluded, that set the F-type apart and makes it feel like the drag-strip refugee that it appears to be – especially if you press the button on the center console that opens the valves in the optional active exhaust more frequently than usual.

The pops and bangs on the overrun of this car have to be heard to be believed. Jaguar says its sound engineers usually work tirelessly for years to remove this kind of unwanted soundtrack from car exhaust systems, because it sounds so uncouth and as if it hasn’t been developed properly. This time around, though, they were told to undo some of the work – and it has been pretty effective. The F-type may not be the fastest, lightest or best-packaged sports car on the market but, by gum, when it comes to aural stimulation, it’s right there.

And the rest? The eight-speed ZF gearbox is smooth and clean when you want, with responsive manual override paddles. And the F, on the big brakes, stops well, resisting fade adequately for a car this heavy and this fast, although not indefinitely.

Ride and handling

Underneath it all, the F-type is a fast Jaguar in a familiar mold. The V8 in particular handles, rides, steers and goes less like an equivalent Porsche or Lotus and more like an XKR that has been at boot camp for a few months. It’s a hot rod and a grand touring sunbed rolled into one, and yet it also has impressive athleticism and delicacy.

Electronics off and the F-type is a real drift machine

None of which is intended as any kind of slight on the F-type. In fact, it bears testament to the uniqueness of Jaguar’s sporting philosophy. It’s one that says, “Above all else, we make road cars – not over-sprung, over-specified monuments to track-intended purposes rarely (if ever) served. These cars must be fast, poised and rewarding, but accessible. They must be cosseting, rich, suave – luxury goods as well as natural athletes.”

That creed allows the F-type to handle superbly but also effortlessly. The steering is feel some and direct and has wonderful weight and intelligibility; it never surprises you with a sudden change of speed, or gives up its sensitivity or heft under load. The suspension tune feels equally honest and dependable. With the dampers operating normally, there is the compliance to ride motorways, urban roads and sunken cross-country routes more consummately than most would expect of a true sports car. It comes with a hint of body roll, and also that gentle, gathering body heave as your speeds rise over undulating surfaces, a trait that has become Jaguar’s enduring dynamic hallmark: ‘the breathe’. The magic trick continues to be Jaguar’s ability to apparently tune out the normal undesirable bedfellows of that compliance. Even without Dynamic mode engaged, the F-type delivers outstanding directional precision and stability and perfectly balanced all-corner grip.

The F-type delivers outstanding directional precision and stability and perfectly balanced all-corner grip

Pull that chequered flag toggle and about 50 per cent of the car’s suppleness instantly turns into added body and wheel control, and with it comes slightly sharper, cleaner steering response. It’s enough to take a B-road apart with what could be considered socially unacceptable gusto; enough to work your way up to about an eight-tenths effort level on track without wishing for more grip or composure. But it’s never enough to introduce Germanic levels of harshness or aggression into the ride or undermine the car’s touring calm.

The truth is that there are other sports cars that offer a closer relationship with the road surface, as well as higher levels of lateral grip. There are more effervescent, involving handling thrills to be found elsewhere, too. But not by a margin large enough to be even distantly aware of while you’re under the F-type’s powerful dynamic spell.

Buying and owning

Jaguar wants $87,780 for an entry-level V6 F-type – over $15k more than a Porsche Boxster S with a PDK gearbox. The V8 S starts at $119,978. For the test car we sampled, swaddled in extras, the price tag buoyed to $137,360 – only pocket change shy of an Aston V8 Vantage Roadster.

The eight-cylinder car, with its balletic flamboyance and aural provocation, arguably sidesteps some of the usual financial comparisons because it is so dramatically singular that sufficiently deep-pocketed buyers (not inhibited by its 259g/km CO2 emissions) will simply reckon it essential. Early interest in the model suggests that much may well be true.

For those making a once-in-a-decade purchase, the waters are muddier. The V6 S represents the range sweet spot at £67,520, handily undercutting the 911 cabriolet’s price and outgunning the Boxster in a straight line. It also retains the V8’s adaptive suspension and adds a mechanical limited-slip diff, 19-inch wheels, cruise control and the option of the all-important active exhaust.

But the F-type buying experience still requires a tick or two. Sat-nav and a DAB tuner may be standard across the range, yet other niceties – rain-sensing wipers, heated seats, wind deflector, heated windscreen and heated steering wheel – are all three-figure additions. While the F-type clearly isn’t cheap, even this flagship model doesn’t exactly come fully loaded.