Jaguar’s first Super Bowl commercial morphs the old saying “Why do bad things happen to good people?” into “Why do awesome things happen to evil people?” Sir Ben Kingsley, Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong have done terrible things as film villains. Yet, they get to have all the fun.
Kingsley, also known as Don Logan… and Sweeney Todd… andMandarin, gets a cool mansion. The Tom Hiddleston—more easily identified as Loki—enjoys the luxury of a posh helicopter that’s being piloted to a hoods’ convention at Kingsley’s lavish estate. But it’s Strong, the dastardly Lord Blackwood from “Sherlock Holmes,” who lives it up the most. He departs a private jet only to zoom around in a Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe en route to the same shady meeting.
Crime must pay very well. As Strong’s character says about English baddies, “we all drive Jaguars.” The 550-horsepower jungle cat he rides starts at $99,000. However, the snarling, popping fury of the fast feline’s supercharged 5.0-liter V8 surely makes handing over suitcases full of ill-gotten gains that much easier.
Do yourself a favor and watch the spot now (below). You’ll get to hear the F-TYPE R Coupe’s drool-inducing exhaust note. Plus, you’ll have more time to put wings on your plate and beer in your hand on Super Bowl Sunday. And plan your own criminal empire…
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
