Jaguar F-TYPE – a moment of magic

THERE have been several moments in Jaguar’s rich history that could be reasonably described as seminal.

But the most important, over the modern era at least, must surely have been the arrival of the F-TYPE.

From the moment it was unveiled six years ago the car’s powerful, fluid and agile design has been the epitome of the cool, classy British performance sports car.

Or as Jaguar’s designers themselves proudly proclaim: “The F-TYPE is sculpted by the wind itself.”

And while owners have the choice of coupe or convertible, if you want to really ride the breeze then opting for the latter is a no brainer.

Lower the fabric hood, which takes less than 10 seconds at the touch of a tab – even on the move should the heavens open – and you have a car that both looks and feels a million dollars.

Fire up the engine, which revs without you actually putting your foot on the accelerator, and the Big Cat roars; prod a little button showing a pair of tailpipes and the sound becomes seismic.

The F-TYPE line-up is pretty comprehensive, stretching from a 300PS 2.0-litre turbocharged version through the 3.0-litre V6 supercharged models with 340 or 380PS to the brutal 575PS V8 SVR.

Our tested model, with a serious 380PS of wallop, was a rear-wheel drive eight-speed automatic in sporty R-Dynamic trim complete with 20-inch diamond turned alloy wheels.

Its Madagascar Orange metallic paint job, a £3,500 extra cost option, may sound sickly but it’s actually magnificent, really making the Jaguar dazzle. It’s worth every penny.

Out on the road the F-TYPE is everything you could wish for in a modern performance convertible.

It is lightweight, supremely agile and has savage acceleration – 0-62 in 4.9 seconds to be exact. The car is also refined, the compact supercharger’s sophisticated boost control and secondary throttle valve providing a burst of power when you accelerate, with zero lag.

As for transmission, the eight-speed Quickshift unit is seamless and also lets the driver blip through the gears using paddles on the steering wheel.

Move inside and everything about the F-TYPE drips with quality – from the flowing lines, intuitive controls and ambient lighting to the Touch Pro infotainment system with 10-inch touchscreen and gloss black finish.

The instruments are simple, clear and easy to read too and feature a pair of large analogue dials while the three-spoke design of the steering wheel incorporates key functions.

As standard, all F-TYPEs feature front and rear parking aids, rear camera, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, as well as offering plenty of options including Adaptive and Configurable Dynamics and carbon ceramic brakes.

Our tested model came with extras like a Black Exterior Pack at £625, Carbon Fibre and Diamond Turned wheels at £520, a £1,070 Climate Pack and a Seat Memory Pack costing £1,100.

It means that fully loaded this is just a few quid short of £80,000. That said, it roars, crackles and handles like a genuine supercar.