Hello Kitty
A new Jaguar F-Type, with a supercharged V8 and just the two driven wheels, in winter? Sign us up.
Chances are Jaguar’s F-Type entered your consciousness about the same time it entered mine – with 2011’s tonguedropping C-X16 Frankfurt show concept (remember them?!). The 16 took much of what made the unutterably gorgeous, mid-engined C-X75 so special (you remember, the one with micro gas turbines for the purposes of recharging its battery that went, in fairly short order, from concept car to limited-run production car to recession casualty to Bond car) and stretched it over the classical, long-bonnet proportions of a front-engined GT. The CX-16 was also a barely disguised production car if ever we’d seen one. ‘Ooooo!’ I thought, in monosyllabic appreciation of Ian Callum’s design genius, for the 16 was a kind of 21st century, four-wheeled remix of Boccioni’s sculptural Futurist tour de force Unique Forms of Continuity in Space. One that, over the subsequent decade, obstinately refused to age.
‘Oooo!’ would become synonymous with my F-Type experiences. In 2013, for what would have been this magazine’s first group test of the car Jaguar had finally deemed worthy of being badged as the E-Type’s successor, our man Georg Kacher stuffed one into a wall. ‘Ooo!’ indeed.
In 2014 I drove one – a couple of enraptured hours in the company of a V8, all-wheel-drive F-Type R, mesmerised by its total traction and vein-popping V8 shove. It was the first car I drove with the straight-line punch to overtake like a motorcycle – on a whim but in complete confidence. No one-trick pony, though, as the R proved equally impressive on tricky back roads; grippy, balanced and with that near-miraculous ride/ handling balance Jaguar’s chassis engineers have since made their calling card.
Then, in the first weeks of 2020, the ‘new’ F-Type arrived, the P300 four-cylinder version of which I drove for a couple of spellbinding days on some of the best mountain roads in Portugal. The new F-Type is of course nothing of the sort, being instead a midlife refresh. Design director Julian Thomson, previously wingman to Callum, ⊲
evolved the time-proof aesthetic while inside the cockpit was updated with new infotainment and a multi-purpose 12.3-inch digital driver’s display (choose between giant central tacho flanked by secondary info displays, a classic twin-dial arrangement or a full-screen map) pinched from the i-Pace but running bespoke software and graphics.
Gentle evolution, then, but the chance to spend whole hours immersed in the P300 driving experience was joyous, and a timely reminder of the greatness within Jaguar’s sole current sports car. Refined, comfortable and well-appointed, the P300 waits until you’re about to pigeonhole it as a GT before revealing its true colours; an agility that beggars belief paired with an easy and benign on-the-limit adjustability that calls to mind another British sports car great: no, not the E-Type, the Caterham Seven. Expensive, yes, but ‘Oooo!’ nonetheless.
With this second-generation F-Type, Jaguar also took the opportunity to simplify the range, killing both the V6 engine and the manual gearbox option (just seven buyers went for the slightly clunky self-shifter in 2019...), its performance advantage over the newer P300 2.0-litre turbo four insucient to keep it alive. Now the gap between the P300 and the flagship, all-wheel-drive 567bhp, SVR-inspired R is home to a new 444bhp V8 with a choice of four- or rear-wheel drive. Ours is a rear-drive P450 R-Dynamic, and just look at it: ‘Oooo!’
R-Dynamic spec is obligatory with the V8 engine – you can’t buy a P450 without it – but not all R-Dynamic packs are created equal. On a P450 it contains such must-haves as adaptive dynamics, the rear e-diff and a torquevectoring by brake system, as well as a raft of cosmetic parts, from side skirts to kick plates. Option it on your P300 four-cylinder, though, and you’ll get the aesthetic upgrade but none of the underthe-skin stuff, Jaguar’s engineers having considered the extra weight and cost of such parts unacceptable on the P300, not to mention anathema to its back-to-basics chuckability.
So really, the only big decision is rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
I’m no anti-AWD luddite, having grown to love BMW’s xDrive system over stints with an xDriveequipped 530d and 850i, but the F-Type is going to fulfil a different role, with the luxury of staying home if the roads are white like a Christmas card scene. That being the case, and with four driven wheels bringing a £5k premium, increased fuel consumption and muddying the purity of the E-Type bloodline, our F-Type is rear-wheel drive. And it’s finally outside my house, in Premium Silicon Silver (£1310) and on the best wheels available (the Style 6003 20s): ‘Oooo!’
Like a pub with an open fire, there’s something immensely reassuring about a V8 British sports car