JOYRIDER The Jaguar F Type Coupe R Review
It’s like being in the skies above Britain during World War 2 in a Spitfire chasing down the Luftwaffe. That’s what the F Type Coupe R is like. Not because I was chasing down a BMW M4 or anything, but because of the soundtrack coming from the back!
Last week I had the opportunity to drive a bunch of really awesome, really fast cars as part of a journalist association rally. Manufacturers turned out in droves to bring a total of 80 of their all new cars for us to drive. I know, I’ve got a pretty great job.
One of those cars was the F Type, a car that I’ve been salivating over for quite some time now ever since I heard the first few videos of the exhaust overrun. It’s frankly intoxicating. And there it was. Sitting directly in front of me, just waiting, sitting, plotting to destroy me and my equipment. More on that later.
You step into the Jag and you expect to be cocooned into the car, but because the F Type Coupe has a clear roof, it’s surprisingly airy and you never feel that claustrophobic like many of its rivals in the segment. The cockpit is spacious and plush, a place where you can see yourself taking on long trips to the supermarket, but then somehow end up on the other side of the country without a care in the world.
The seats are sublime. They hug you when you throw it into a turn and let the ass hang out, but they aren’t harsh like many other sport seats with that much bolstering. My only problem with the interior of the car would probably be the steering wheel. It’s just too busy for me. I don’t need that many buttons on my wheel, especially when the controls for audio are so close to your touch.
Part of the rally was having a track all to ourselves, and as my first real track day with this many cars, I was determined to drive as many as I could to not only have a hell of a good time, but to tell you all how they all did on the track. So I puttered onto the racetrack and waited for the green light.
Here is where some hyperbole starts.
FURY AND HELLFIRE! I crank the throttle and the TCS light flickers like it’s on ecstasy at a rave. Even with the TCS on, the back tires give up and spin all the way till the transmission shifts into 2nd. I dive for the first turn, the carbon ceramic brakes halt the big cats progress like it’s been shot. Throttle up through the turn and the tail of the car starts to wag out a big. Correct the oversteer and throttle up more. The cars exhaust is singing now, loud as loud can be. Seriously, a friend was behind me in a Viper TA and he could hear me three cars back in the Vipers cabin.
I hit the next turn and decide to see how far the TCS will let me go. THIS IS A DRIFT CAR! JAGUAR BUILT A DRIFT CAR! I get massive angle through a long sweeper that seems to just go on forever, or it could have been time stopping and telling me that I really shouldn’t be sliding a $125,000 car that I can’t pay for if I shunt it. Who knows, but at the end of that turn I was laughing hysterically.
I got out of the car, smiles abound and giggling like an idiot. The rep actually asked me if I liked it, and just couldn’t stop laughing and thanking him.
I went and drove a few more cars before I finally decided to do some work. I grabbed my camera and video equipment and headed back to the car park to shoot some stuff. I was originally headed for the new Camaro Z/28, but it was occupied. I then spotted that the Jag had no one hanging around it so I went over to ask the rep if I could shoot some video. He agreed and I went back out on track.
Now here comes an interesting story. I had just bought a new microphone to shoot better video for all of you adoring fans. I had played around with it for the last week leading up to the rally to get the hang of it. I used my car as a test subject because it had a fairly loud exhaust, so I figured I knew how to set it up properly. I think I did, but I seemed to have forgotten that the F Type R runs real rich and has a tendency to shoot flames.
Here’s the video.
At the 3 min mark, the wind muff goes to hell. Then at the 7 minute mark the rest of the microphone is dead. Why? Because of this.
Yep, that’s my brand spanking new Sennheiser microphone completely melted from the F Type’s exhaust. I had the thing a complete foot off the exhaust pipes and it still did this. I couldn’t believe what I saw after I got back. Neither could the reps or any of my fellow journalists. We all just stood there for a while in disbelief.
In the end, the F Type barbequed my microphone, but it didn’t die in vain. I got to tell a great story and you all hopefully got a great laugh. And that little anecdote really encompasses the F Type R perfectly. It isn’t a true track car. It isn’t a true luxury cruiser. It’s a hysterical pyromaniac that slides for days and has a soundtrack that is actually illegal is most states. It’s wonderfully ridiculous and I wish I was back in it.