As a diehard motoring enthusiast, I’ve never been keen on convertibles – there’s too much flex in the chassis and they don’t give off the right message – unless we’re talking about the Jaguar F-Type R AWD Convertible.
The spec sheet alone is enough to get your pulse racing. 404kW of power and a whopping 680Nm of torque. 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 300km/h from a 5.0-litre supercharged V8.
The whole car looks menacing, but my favourite view is from the rear – those quad cannon-size exhaust pipes, mounted outboard, are a sure sign that this is not your average F-Type Jag, more than anything else other than the R badge itself.
It’s an immensely quick car, which actually feels quicker than 4.1 seconds. We ran this same car at the drag strip recently and were blown away by its 11.7-second quarter mile and 198km/h closing speed at the mark – that’s astonishing for a convertible road car.
For me, though it’s all about all-wheel drive with this car. It feels so much more user friendly than its rear-wheel drive sibling. You can really feel the extra bite as you exit the corners. No longer do I feel like I’m living on the ragged edge and all-hell is about to break loose.
Inside, well there’s plenty of stitched leather and these sports seats are comfortable and supportive. It feels special in a conservative way, not as smart as the latest Audi interior, but still very much premium and with Jaguar’s latest InControl Infotainment system.
Make no mistake; this is a hugely expensive car, but with supermodel looks, ballistic acceleration with AWD and cannon fire for an exhaust note, I’m all in.
