The Angry Cat – Jaguar F-Type R Coupe

All you need do is gently press the START/STOP button with the brake pedal applied and listen. The mighty R Coupe bursts into life with a formidable V8 explosion announcing its power and precision. Here is a little info regarding our time with the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe.

Numbers first… The car features Jaguar’s and one of my own beloved engines, the 5.0 Supercharged petrol V8, with a Quick-shift 8-speed automatic transmission. This motor, capable of 186mph, cranks out 680Nm of torque and thats made from the 550 Horses under the hood. In the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe, 0-60 is achieved in as little as 4.0 seconds (4.2 to 100km/h) and attention please! This IS a RWD car! Therefore its characteristically different compared to the V6S AWD we previously tried out. Now then, if you put all of those numbers together you would guess this a pretty mental car right? It must be a handful to drive and with all that power going straight to the rear axle blah, blah, blah.

Wrong. This thing drives amazingly. The balance of this car is perfect and with that heavy V8 heart beating away at the front and a short, low, wide chassis, the rear wheel drive has a perfect marriage to the engine via the transmission. The early stages of driving this car are about understanding the power you have access to, and with any power comes responsibility. Take your time with the throttle, be patient with the attack and release and watch the dynamism of this F-Type come to life. You are able to enjoy great characteristic handling and acceleration, take it easy in the wet though! The ride is smooth on the motorway and feels well, sports car like in town thanks to those big 20” wheels. Braking was fair for the amount of speed you can pick up so fast, and thats with the standard steel brakes, but Jaguar has some nice optional carbon ceramic’s you could throw on for a fair £7,550 and I’m sure they would be awesome on here as I drove those breaks on the SVR F-Type in Spain.

Interior wise you have a reasonably pretty cabin with a good choice of materials from aluminium dash facias to leather headlining. The seats are comfortable, heated (optionally) and offer good support in all but the most extreme driving instances. Also, some nice options are available here such as the (£1,530) performance seats, which also add some nice suede cloth to the equation. With the infotainment system recently improved, we had no problems using our media devices and enjoying the “Meridian” sound system through our test drive. Reversing camera, GPS, InControl App, 8” Touchscreen and DAB radio all aid the media experience of the car further.

Conclusively, this Jaguar F-Type R Coupe is a great all around British sports car and Jaguar has invested great effort from the dimensions and interior to the design and finish of this car. Since its launch in 2013, the small improvements year by year have really set this car in its place. It’s also, in our opinion, one of the nicest looking cars on the road. Distinctive and attractive. With a starting price of £86,825 you certainly get a lot of thrill and excitement for your money. Now you just need one of our “Good Girls” in the passenger seat. More info over at Jaguar!