Jaguar takes a leap

WELL, this has been a long time coming. More than half a century after its last two-seat sports car pounced from the designer’s sketchpad to the production line, Jaguar has made the leap from E-Type to F-Type. The former changed the face of sports cars forever. The new car can’t promise to do that, but it does fill a gaping void in Jaguar’s line-up. Has the 52-year wait been worth it?

After a wait of 52 years to fill the gap in its line-up, Jaguars stunning F-Type range aims to attract a new audience to the sports car market

Of course it has. Jaguar is on a roll right now, and the supercharged F-Type reflects that, although it helps if you’ve been putting a wee bit aside every month for the bulk of those 52 years. At just shy of £60,000 for the entry-level 336bhp V6 model, rising to £67,520 for the more powerful 376bhp V6S and £80,000 for the bonkers, bellicose 490bhp V8S, the F-Type isn’t cheap. In fact, it sits in a bit of a no-man’s land when it comes to pricing. The cheapest one is costlier than an equivalent Porsche Boxster, the most expensive one cheaper than a 911 Cabriolet. It seems Jaguar is trying to claw a niche for the F-Type.

Mind you, fretting about whether it represents value for money stops the moment you fold the roof away and press the engine-start button. If you’re in either of the V6 models and you’ve flicked the switch to open special bypass valves in the exhaust (a must-have option on the entry-level V6, standard on all other models), the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up as the engine barks into life. If it’s the V8 you’re in, the throngs of camera-toting children that clamour for a close-up every time you park the car will yelp with a mix of shock and bewilderment. This is, my co-driver at the press launch agreed, one of the loudest road cars we’ve ever driven.

And one of the prettiest. The F-Type owes its styling to 2011’s C-X16 concept car. which means it sort of looks like the current crop of Jaguars, and sort of doesn’t. That’s no surprise, since its maker is looking for an entirely new audience with this one. It’s expected 85 per cent of F-Type buyers will be new to the Jaguar brand.

Sounds magnificent, looks stunning, but what’s it like to drive? A joy. Sharp as a tack, with a sublime ride quality, especially if you fork out a little extra for electronically adjustable damping. And that noise! The F-Type is a foot shorter than Jaguar’s XK grand tourer, just under an inch wider and much, much lower. Proper sports car proportions, then. An aluminium body helps keeps weight around the 1,600kg mark, so it’s nimble and eager to respond to every tickle of the throttle pedal. Left in automatic mode, the close-ratio eight-speed gearbox chooses its cogs well, but maximum enjoyment comes from flicking the joystick-like gearlever over to the left and taking manual control.

On the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, we put all three cars through their paces, chucking them into hairpins with as much bravery as we could muster. After 60 spine-tingling miles in the 3.0-litre V6, in which it could do no wrong, we were left wondering how the V6S and 5.0-litre V8S could possibly raise the bar any higher. A few laps of the Circuit de Navarre in the V6S, and a blast back over the mountains in the V8S, showed how.

Of the trio, the V6S has the best balance of performance and dynamics, revelling in its extra shot of power and clinging to the corners thanks to mechanical limited-slip differential at the back. The heavier V8S offers blistering straight-line pace and a soundtrack I want played at my funeral, but feels a tiny bit less composed on undulating surfaces. Intoxicating on a warm, dry Spanish road, we would not be feeling nearly so cocky in the wet.

The driving position is excellent, but low. Very low. Good grief, that IS low. Yet that’s no impediment to seeing where you’re going. Even the air vents on the top of the dash sink out of sight when they’re not needed, to give a better view of the road ahead. Going backwards is made easier by a retracting rear spoiler that sits flush with the bootlid at low speeds, and a high-definition reversing camera. The cabin is Jaguar’s best effort yet, and that’s saying something. A touchscreen houses many of the controls, while there’s a grab rail on the passenger’s side of the transmission tunnel.

Is it practical? Well, the shallow boot won’t hold more than a couple of squashy day bags, and there’s no room to stuff things behind the seats, so no, not really. But this is a sports car, damn it, and sports cars are not supposed to be sensible. A 15.8-gallon fuel tank gives the F-Type a theoretical range of between 360 and 480 miles, but only if you drive it as you might drive a milk float. We were only a bit surprised to find that the V8 was running on vapours by the time our 150-mile test drive was complete. Your local petrol station owner will love this car almost as much as you do.

Sublime and ridiculous all at once, the F-Type is a brilliant return to the sports car market for Jaguar. About bleedin’ time.

VITAL STATS

CAR: Jaguar F-Type range

PRICE: £58,500-£79,950

PERFORMANCE: Max speed 161-186mph, 0-60 4.2-5.1s

MPG (combined): 31.4-25.5

CO2 EMISSIONS: 209-259g/km