Back in the late 1980s when I lived in Phoenix, I bought a 1969 Jaguar E-Type, or more correctly, a pile of parts on a shop floor that two years later would become an E-Type.
When it was finished, it was extraordinarily beautiful, sexy and sleek in claret paint and biscuit-colored leather interior. Everywhere I went, the E-Type turned heads and, if I’d had a bad day, sometimes I’d just sit in it in the hot Arizona air, practically getting a contact high from the soft and seductive leather hides used to cover the seats. It was as intoxicating a vehicle as I’ve ever owned.
Of course, being a late 1960s British car, the E-Type featured the heavy usage of Lucas electrical parts. Suffice to say, every nightmare story you’ve ever heard about Lucas – a/k/a The Prince of Darkness – is true. Every time I started the car, a different combination of gauges would work. That was just part of the deal.
To my mind, the E-Type, along with the original 1963 split-window Corvette Stingray, are the two most important automotive designs of the last 75 years. Bold words, for sure, but both cars have proven to be timeless icons of automotive design.
All of which is a very long-winded way of saying that when Jaguar finally decided to build an F-Type nearly 40 years after the E-Type was discontinued, expectations were sky high. And after a week behind the wheel of the F-Type R coupe, the Mack Daddy of the F-Type series, I can state categorically that expectations were met almost everywhere and exceeded in some cases.
The F-Type, which debuted last year, comes in three flavors: The base F-Type coupe starts at $65,000 U.S. and comes standard with a supercharged 340-horsepower V-6. The $77,000 F-Type S adds 40 horsepower, better brakes and suspension, among other upgrades.
The F-Type R is a big step up in every respect. It carries a base price of $99,000 and features a rowdy 550-horsepower supercharged V-8 that will push the F-Type R from a standing start to 60 miles in just 4.0 seconds, with an impressive and electronically limited top end of 186 mph. The only transmission is an eight-speed automatic that of course comes with paddle shifters for more spirited driving.
Without question, this is a serious performance car designed to go head-to-head with the best in the world.
The bright red seats and stitching in the Jag's interior contrasts nicely with the black dash.
While the original E-Type was best described as smooth, sophisticated and maybe even a trifle delicate, the F-Type is a brute, at least in the R Trim. Mash the accelerator and you’re instantly slammed back hard into your seat and you stayed pinned until you ease off the throttle.
In that respect, the F-Type feels much more like a Corvette or a modern high-end muscle car than it does an E-Type. And that’s not a bad thing, mind you. The E-Type was sexy and sophisticated, the F-Type an all-out, no-compromises high-performance sports car.
And my word is it ever fun to drive. There’s so much power and the chassis is so agile that I was tempted to drive the F-Type R as hard as I could every single chance I get. It just eggs you on, begging for you to drive it hard.
The brakes – officially known as the Jaguar Super Performance Braking Systems – were especially good, I thought, stopping the car with alacrity, even from high speeds. For serious gearheads, Jaguar offers a $12,000 carbon ceramic braking system, which I’d suspect would be sensational.
Part of what makes the Jaguar so much fun to drive is the fact that the cockpit is an excellent place to work from. The optional performance seats featured aggressive bolstering to keep one in place when the going gets fast.
Although some critics have found the center-mounted HVAC/navigation/audio screen dated, to me it’s very intuitive and easy to use, unlike too many of those found on expensive cars. Loved the bright red seats and stitching, too, which contrasted nicely with the black dash.
The exterior styling, while not as groundbreaking as that on the E-Type, is bold and aggressive, drawing admiring glances from many onlookers.
The F-Type R is powered by a 5-liter supercharger V-8 with 550 horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque.
All told, the F-Type is a departure from its forebears in that it focuses far more on raw power and performance than the original ever did. And from the driver’s seat, that’s a very good thing indeed.
Oh, and according to J.D. Power & Associates, Jaguar as a brand now has a better-than-average reliability record compared with other automakers. Take that, Lucas!
Jaguar F-Type R specs:
VEHICLE TYPE: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door sports car
ENGINE: 5-liter supercharger V-8, 550 horsepower, 460 lb.-ft. of torque
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed ZF automatic
WHEELBASE: 103.2 inches
OVERALL LENGTH: 176.0 inches
CURB WEIGHT: 3,514 pounds
EPA MILEAGE RATING: 16 city/23 highway
MSRP: $99,000
