SVR the ultimate Jaguar F-Type
But just how different is it to the already wicked, and cheaper, all-wheel drive R?
wheel-traction can nearly alter the Earth’s spin; and the sound it makes is a cross between Nascar and Lucifer’s laryngitis. Basically, if the R is a sword of Valyrian steel, the SVR just puts a slightly sharper edge and shinier finish on it.
Having parked the R after five full tilt hot laps, I jumped straight into the R271 000 dearer SVR. Immediately I noticed that its recalibrated steering rack turned into Kyalami’s corners with more direct feel. It’s more than just an adjusted steering ratio – there’s a tad more communication with the tar, and there was a faint difference in its power assistance. A little lighter actually.
The extra 18 kilowatts and 20 Newton-meters are, for the most part, indiscernible. That said, trying to detect the added oomph would be like trying to sense the difference between a Saturn V rocket and the Space Shuttle on liftoff. Both pull with enough force to press your guts against the back of your ribcage.
The SVR’s special exhaust does help create an illusion of boosted performance because it is louder, especially at high revs. At pulloff it’s a deeper, more guttural tone than the raspy R, but north of 5000rpm it’s much the same, just some decibels higher.
There’s also an interesting detail in the SVR’s quad tips, as the outer pipes are titanium and therefore discolour with a rainbow effect, and the inners remain pure Inconel silver. The R’s four tips are all chromed stainless steel.
The track-only test drives did reveal some hiccups with the F-Type’s eight-speed torque converter transmission.
While it’s quick enough on upshifts, clicks of the left downshift paddle are often met with a reluctance to change gears. It’s an understandable engine-saving feature built in to prevent piston ejection, but can be frustrating at times, especially under hard braking at corner entries.
I didn’t get a chance to take the SVR on the road, but experience with all other F-Type models leads me to assume it’s not so much of a problem there. This gearbox is known for its buttery smoothness. Sharp up and down kicks, not so much. Which is better, you decide.
Those brakes though. Wow. The SVR comes standard with steel brakes but the car we track tested was fitted with optional (R111 600) 398mm front and 380mm rear carbon-ceramic discs that seemed to enjoy the torture test around the track.
The new Kyalami’s extended main straight saw speeds approaching 250km/h, with a hard braking zone into turn one, and here the super-coupe scrubbed speed at an astonishing rate.
After many fast laps the ceramic brakes showed no signs of fade, and produced hardly any stinky smoke compared to the test R’s steel disc setup. But, remember you can spec an R with carbon ceramics too if you tack an extra R106 400 onto its R2 032 186 pricetag. Expensive, yes, but well worth it if you plan on any track days.
Like a GT3 RS, the R2 303 286 SVR can be considered a track day special (if you’re cool with sacrificing sets of 20-inch tyres). But let’s be honest, most will never grace a pit lane. This is a suede-lined special edition destined for Jag lover collections and the odd blast down a traffic-free road.
Yes, it’s faster, firmer, louder and pricier than an ordinary all-wheel-drive F-Type R. But then again, an F-Type R is hardly ordinary.