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HERE is no doubt that this week’s test car - the Jaguar F-Type S Coupe is absolutely fabulous to look at. At the risk of antagonising the classic car community, dare I say it is almost as gorgeous as its illustrious forbear - the legendary E-Type.

Looked at from every angle the Jaguar Land Rover designers have really hit the spot and, unlike the E-Type, I think the coupe version is better looking than the convertible (and a few thousand pounds less too).

With more than a hint of baby Aston Martin, the F-Type drew lots of attention during my week behind the wheel - helped by the glorious roar which emits from its big twin centrally mounted active sports exhaust tailpipes.

And while £68,750 is a lot of cash, the F-Type can get the envious looks usually generated by cars costing tens of thousands more.

Even Mrs H was moved to make positive comments when the car arrived at Howarth Towers.

There are three engine options, a pair of V6 petrols with either 335bhp or 375bhp on the S (our test car) and a V8 - all of them supercharged.

And supercharged is how you feel when you are driving the F-Type, this really is a drivers car which makes any journey a joy. Even stuck in the usual M60 jams, you appreciate the purring big cat as other drivers look on through a green mist of envy.

You can choose your F-Type Coupe with two or four-wheel drive, but a manual gearbox (as fitted to our test car) is only available with the six-cylinder engine.

The F-Type S and V8 R models share adaptive dampers which give the best handling, as well as that electronically controlled active exhaust which boosts the snarling cat roar at the flick of a switch.

But no matter which one you choose the F-Type delivers the drive you expect from a true sports/GT car with handling, power and an impressive list of kit which was augmented with over £8,000 worth of extras on our test vehicle. This included a panoramic glass roof, power tailgate, heated sports seats, premium sound system, reversing camera, keyless entry and illuminated ‘Jaguar’ sill treadplates.

Standard kit on the F-Type S includes that switchable active sports exhaust, a dynamic sports mode, electric leather seats, cruise control, an 8” touch screen DAB audio/sat nav/info system, tyre pressure monitoring plus DSC, EBA, EBD and ABS and a neat pop up active spoiler which does its stuff at speeds above 60mph.

Performance figures on the Coupe S are 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds