F Type Coupe

[Wretched]

Rarely has Jaguar thrived as beautifully as it is under the stewardship of Indian conglomerate Tata—and the more-immediate leadership of a group of executives with an education from the best automakers in Germany. A stunning example of this is the new F-type coupe, which reminds us of a question posed by one of the Jag’s famous compatriots: “Shall we shag now or shall we shag later?” Pardon us while we pick our collective jaws up off the floor.

While the F-type roadster is a natural choice for Jaguar customers, many of those who consider themselves “serious drivers” will have held out for the coupe. Regardless of how sophisticated fabric tops have become, they are no match for the rigidity of a fully enclosed aluminum structure. The F-type roadster can hold its own on a racetrack, but it wouldn’t be our first choice—especially if presented with the option of a closed-roof variant.

The F-type coupe features a gently sloping, delicate roofline that we find sufficiently distinguished from the roadster’s notchback appearance—and far more seductive, too. This sultry silhouette dates back to the C-X16 concept that Jaguar debuted two years ago in Frankfurt, and the brand says that the production version brings the show car’s “uncompromised design vision” to market. And that’s very nearly accurate, except for one minute detail that was compromised. The C-X16 featured a side-hinged rear window, a cue taken from the iconic E-type; the F-type coupe, however, features a traditional liftback rear opening. Chief designer Ian Callum told us that he wanted to keep the retro-inspired design, but the company was fearful of customers dragging luggage over the car’s sumptuous shoulders.

Unsurprisingly, the entry-level engine offerings mirror those of the roadster. There is a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 available in strengths of 340 and 380 horsepower, making 332 and 339 lb-ft of torque. And just as in the convertible, the coupe’s lineup is topped by a supercharged 5.0-liter V-8. However, as that mill serves in the F-type V-8 S and makes 495 horsepower and 460 lb-ft, output has been upped to 550 horses and 502 lb-ft for duty in the coupe, and the badge becomes F-type R. The base model runs from zero to 60 mph in a claimed 5.1 seconds and is governed at 161 mph, Jag says the S model manages 4.8 seconds to 60 and 171 mph, while the R is said to achieve 4.0 seconds and 186 mph. (The top speed of all three models is electronically limited.)

Both the V-6 and the V-8 powerplants offer unique and intoxicating symphonies, and both will back up to a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission—sources within Jag have told us that a stick will be available some time after launch. We hope it's true. The F-type R comes with a stiffer suspension, and both an electronic differential that controls a multi-plate clutch and a torque-vectoring system.

The 2015 Jaguar F-type coupe will go on sale next spring, and is priced to slot in at $4000 less than its open-top brethren. The base model starts at $65,895, the stronger V-6 S begins at $77,895, while the ultra-powerful R model rings in at $99,895. With such seductive sheetmetal, and pricing and performance roughly matching Porsche’s Cayman and 911 lineups, it would seem the Germans now have a genuine threat on their hands.

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Beautiful...just beautiful.