Ferocious felines: F-Type V8 & V6

ROAD TEST: Jaguar F-Type coupé V8 R and V6 S

By: Jason Woosey

There's absolutely nothing subtle or unassuming about this bright 'Firesand' orange feline as it basks in the early morning sunlight at the Gerotek facility near Pretoria, waiting to charge down our test strip.

It's hard not to compare this new Jaguar sports car to its E-Type ancestor, a car that is still widely regarded as one of the most gorgeous automotive creations of all time. But did Jaguar get the blend right with its spiritual successor? Though it hasn't exactly evoked the same level of public ogling as the E-Type did back in the sixties, the F-Type certainly qualifies as automotive eye candy in its own right. And boy does it garner attention on the street.

The F-Type coupé is particularly striking from the rear, where the sloping cabin tapers inwards between those muscular, oversized haunches. Here the tin-top F-Type stands boldly apart from its convertible sibling that made its debut a year earlier.

The fixed-roof F-Type holds further advantages in its stiffer structure, which makes it the most torsionally-rigid Jaguar ever made, and it's also 20kg lighter than its ragtop sibling. Yet the cherry on top is the 'R' version that's exclusively available in coupé format. The superlatives continue in this hardcore F-Type model, its 405kW/680Nm 5-litre supercharged V8 making it the fastest series-production Jaguar ever, while the V8 S convertible comes with a 'tamer' 364kW V8.

EXPLOSIVE ACCELERATION

On this particular morning we would put some of the V8 R's claims to the test and while we'll have to take Jaguar's word on the 300km/h top speed, its sprinting ability neatly matched the firm's claims as our V-box registered a 4.19 second 0-100km/h sprint. Acceleration is tyre-smokingly explosive and once on the boil it's even more potent than those figures suggest, given it was hindered off the mark by a lack of launch control and its pre-takeoff rev restrictions.

Yet there's so much more to the F-Type R coupé than just numbers. Turn the key and providing you've dialled in the more liberal exhaust flap setting, the engine explodes into action with one of the most orgasmic growls that you could imagine coming from a V8. Its snap-crackle-pop soundtrack is addictive and this Jag will regularly treat you to a spine-tingling backfire when you lift off the throttle.

HANDLE WITH CAUTION

The F-Type R should come with some sort of 'handle with caution' disclaimer though. If you want to get your kicks here without wrapping it around a street light, make sure you're a skilled driver who's willing to treat this potent rear-wheel drive machine with the respect it deserves.

Sure, it's got an electronic active diff, torque vectoring by braking, double wishbone suspension and an aerodynamic rear spoiler that lifts at speed in an attempt to keep the tail planted, but this is still a wildly tail-happy sports car, especially if you turn off the traction control as I did for a quick stint on a dry skidpan. Keep the electronic nanny activated though, and this car will still treat you to some tail slippage, but with a wider safety net.

MILDER V6 FLAVOUR

The F-Type is available in milder flavours too and after the V8 R test car was pried out of my hands, there was some consolation in the form of a V6 S coupé. Here your poison is a 280kW/460Nm 3-litre supercharged V6, which purred to 100km/h in 5.1 seconds on our test strip (just 0.9s slower than the R) and which generally proved to be a more mild-mannered cat with more forgiving handling. At R1 008 796, it also costs over half-a-bar less than the R1 581 111 V8 R. Add it all up and it the S will be seen by many as the Goldilocks of the range. Still, I missed the sheer brutality and wicked soundtrack of the V8 R. The S also boasts the trick exhaust with its adjustable flaps, and it's enticingly vocal in its own right, but it just doesn't sound as good as the V8.

Both versions of the F-Type are surprisingly easy to live with on a daily basis. The suspension is relatively firm but there's nothing punishing about the ride quality and it's comfortable enough on everyday surfaces. The eight-speed automatic gearbox, fitted to both, goes about its business smoothly and rapidly, and you can either leave it to its own devices or call on its responsive flappy paddles when you're in a controlling mood.

As with the open-top, seating is strictly for two, although the coupé does have a bigger appetite for luggage than its convertible sibling, with boot space rising from 200 to 407 litres - apparently enough for two golf bags.

The driver-focused cabin imparts the necessary sense of occasion with its opulent-looking and elegantly stitched surfaces and you can personalise the colour scheme depending on whether you want red and racy, light and creamy or dark and, well, dark.

VERDICT

It's really easy to fall under the spell of the F-Type V8 R coupé and if you're a highly-skilled driver with a money's-no-object kind of bank account then you're probably not going to resist this temptation.

As much as I hate to admit it, though, the significantly cheaper V6 S version delivers more-than-ample potency in a more civilised package that just makes more sense at the end of the day. Sense, of course, being a relative term at this end of automotive spectrum.

FACTS

Jaguar F-Type Coupe R

Engine: 5-litre, V8 supercharged petrol

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 405kW @ 6500rpm

Torque: 680Nm @ 3500rpm

0-100km/h (tested): 4.19 seconds

Quarter mile (tested):

Top speed (claimed): 300km/h

Consumption (claimed): 11.9 litres per 100km

Price: R1 581 111

Maintenance plan: Five-year/100 000km