After four decades, Jaguar has finally given the masses what they want: another true (and gorgeous!) rear-wheel drive sports car in the form of the Jaguar F-TYPE. Their previous go at the genre was the E-Type, which stopped production in 1975. Called by Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari as “The most beautiful car ever made,” The F-TYPE had large shoes to fill. Luckily, the fit is perfect.
Visually arresting, I tested the 2014 Convertible model around the same time that the 2015 Coupe was released. Although up to personal tastes, there is something pure and appealing about the way the roadster looks and feels.
"A piece of design should tell a story and this is why every line in the F-TYPE has a start, a direction and a conclusion,” says Jaguar director of design Ian Callum.
The design architecture is defined by the British automaker as a pair of "heartlines," or creases in the metal, that sculpt the car. The first one starts with the pillars in-between the air intakes that run up along the front fender and across the doors. The flared rear fenders frame the other heartline, which meets in the middle below the hidden active rear spoiler that deploys when the vehicle travels over 100 km/h.
The sound that accompanies that speed can only be described as intoxicating. Standard on the V6 S model I was driving is the “Active Exhaust” system that can literally make the F-TYPE sound like a wild animal with the push of a button on the centre console. When activated, electronically controlled bypass valves in the exhaust piping open up basically creating a straight-through setup. Under hard acceleration a symphony of pops and growls emit from the tailpipe guaranteed to turn heads if the look of the car isn’t already doing so.
Performance on the V6 S is defined by a 380-horsepower, 3.0-litre V6 supercharged engine — the base model offers a slightly de-tuned version of the V6 providing 340 hp. Finally, a top-of-the-line V8 rounds out the offerings, the same engine found in the Range Rover Supercharged, which produces 495 hp.
If you’ve driven other Jaguar Land Rover products, you will notice similarities in the interior like the dash layout and infotainment system that is almost identical to the one in the Range Rover. Fortunately the F-TYPE utilizes physical buttons versus virtual ones, and you won’t find any seat massagers in this Jag.
Equipped with an eight-speed Quickshift automatic transmission, gear changes really are performed lightning-quick and the computer will learn your driving style to adapt according to whether you’re in stop-and-go traffic or blasting around a track. I was guilty of often overriding the transmission by pulling on the steering wheel’s paddle shifters just to downshift so I could hear the muffler emit an angry burble.
With the flip of a switch, the driver can also manually choose the way the vehicle behaves and select between different modes like Normal, Rain/Snow or Dynamic. The latter causes the instrument panel to glow red, and modifies the traction control to allow for maximum acceleration. Mother Nature decided to play tricks on me causing road conditions to be mostly wet during my week of testing, but I still managed to play around with the settings. Be warned even in Rain/Snow mode, the tail can come out on you in a corner before grip is electronically realized.
The F-Type is one of those cars that should be driven and not just read about. Wait for the sun to peek out, hop over to the nearest dealership to see what the hype is about. The 2014 F-Type V6 Sport Convertible starts at $88,900 MSRP.
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HIGHLIGHTS
MSRP: $88,900 (base)
Motor: 3.0-litre, 6-cylinder supercharged
Horsepower: 33 @ 6,500 rpm
Torque(lb-ft): 339 @ 3,500 to 5,000 rpm
Gearbox: 8-speed Quickshift automatic with paddle shifters
Layout: front engine, rear-wheel drivewheel drive
Fuel Economy: 11.8 L/100 km combined city and highway (observed)