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Occasionally, this job affords an opportunity to fulfil one of your dreams. One such instance happened this week as I took the new Jaguar F-Type R Coupé for a glorious spin around the island.
A chance to drive one of the pinnacles of British manufacturing was one I could not pass by, and as soon I clamped eyes on the beautiful white beast, I knew it was going to be a day long-remembered.
Before I even got inside the car, I admired the sexy, sleek exterior with its sweeping aluminium roofline and particularly curvy rear. It’s refreshing to see a sports car without a rear spoiler sticking out and obstructing the view, although there is a tiny one deployable by the push of a button when driving.
Aerodynamics are at the forefront of the design, a front splitter beneath the grille manages airflow underneath the car, while even the door handles retract into the body when not required to enable maximum airflow along the flanks.
Of course, with a car like this, it’s what’s under the bonnet that really matters. Pushing the keyless ignition button, this big cat’s 5.0 Litre V8 Supercharged engine purrs into life, but truly starts to roar when you put your foot down. Achieving 0-100kmph in just 4.2 seconds with a top speed of 300kmph when you extract every ounce of the 550bhp engine, this is truly a monster.
The interior is as luxurious as you would expect, with jet black and red duotone bucket seats offering both comfort and lateral support, while the dashboard and doors are embossed with the finest leather and carbon fibre elements. Particularly smart is the air conditioning unit (packed with Dual Climate Control), which seamlessly pops up and down above the centre stack depending on whether the engine is on or not.
The car ticks all the infotainment boxes such as navigation, AM/FM radio, Bluetooth, AUX and USB connectivity all accessed via a smart touch screen, although admittedly it’s slightly more cumbersome and unintuitive to use than its contemporaries.
The F-Type is also fitted with a 770w Meridian Surround Sound System that delivers perfect surround quality through its 12 speakers, but I must admit that my time spent with it switched on was very limited. With such a feral noise exploding from the Active Sport outboard-mounted quad exhausts, this was a motor that deserved to have its engine listened to. There is even a button just below the gear stick which activates the Switchable Active Exhaust to open the bypass valves to produce an even richer and exhilarating sound, although don’t use this if you are some distance from a petrol station!
Driving this beauty is as pleasurable as you can imagine, particularly thanks to the steering feedback. Much stiffer than expected, the car responds to every slight change of direction regardless of speed.
Naturally, with the fervour of a kid in a sweet shop, I flicked the driving mode into Dynamic via a toggle button next to the gear stick. Although I barely thought it possible, the steering became even tighter and the suspension harder, with gear changes and throttle more responsive too.
It would be advisable to ensure the traction control switch is on though, as the slightest tap of the accelerator out of a bend in this mode tries to send the tail out like a puppy on a laminate floor!
Finally, the 8-speed automatic transmission works so well in tandem with the engine that gear changes could easily be mistaken for a manual, with up and downshifts occurring just when you want them to. Of course, there is the option to switch it into manual and use the paddles behind the steering wheel which are just as responsive.
I did not want my experience with the F-Type to end, and I kept looking at the clock willing it to go back an hour. Alas, that didn’t happen, but the depressing feeling I had when I climbed back into my own car was sweetened with the knowledge that I had just had comfortably the best driving experience of my life.
The Jaguar F-Type R Coupé is available from the Euro Motors Showroom in Sitra. Prices start from BD30,000.
Call 17750750 for more details.
