Jaguar F-Type R Coupe (2014) Driven

The road from Ixopo in the KZN Midlands back to the N3 is a great driving road. And luckily for us journos on this week’s Jaguar F-Type Coupe launch, it formed the final scenic part of the route on our run back to the King Shaka International Airport in mid-afternoon, before the traffic picked up.

A mix of fast sweeping corners, swooping downhill runs, tight twists through mountain cuttings that never decrease on radius after you’ve committed yourself to a reasonably sane entry speed – this is the place for a blast in a car with a first-class chassis and an engine to curl your toes back.

One of the best cars on the planet right now

And believe me, the F-Type Coupe is possibly one of the best cars on the planet right now for such a run. There are three models launched, as with the convertible model which has proved to be the most popular-selling sports car in South Africa in the past 12 months.

You get the basic Coupe with the 250 kW version of the supercharged V6, the S which has a 280 kW version of the same engine, and then there’s the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe, all 405 kW of it, with the most exuberant of supercharged V8s you are likely to encounter this side of a race track spectator fence.

And yes, I was lucky enough to score the V8-powered Jaguar F-Type R coupe for that run back to the boring old freeway, having nevertheless revelled in the sweet balance and soul-searing engine-audio of the V6 S earlier in the afternoon.

The trick with the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe was to hit the exhaust-loudness button on the console, then wind down the windows as we entered stretches of this road that cut through the mountains, and rejoice in that V8 noise as it bounced of the  rock-face. Then back off and laugh as the four-tailpipes backfired and popped.

Ride and handling of the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe

You can feel the rigidity of the coupe’s aluminium roofed body structure the moment you drive it, as its is immediately less reactive over little potholes and speed bumps. And when we put the F-Type Coupe through its paces on the wonderfully nostalgic Roy Hesketh race track outside Pietermaritzburg, you could feel the added precision that the chassis rigidity has imparted to the car.

Turn in for the apex and it simply darts in, perfect as long as you are precise on the thick-rimmed leather steering wheel. The chassis remains biased towards oversteer, and with the stonking 405 kW on tap with the V8, you had better be careful in your throttle inputs, as the rear tyres can start losing grip even on half throttle as you power out of a bend.

Jaguar has added electronic controls to the limited slip diff, making it much more reactive to grip sensing on the rear wheels. And torque vectoring makes the car extremely reactive to steering inputs and throttle usage, detecting any sign of slippage on both the front and rear wheels and acting accordingly.

What made the car so delightful for me out on the road was this new precision in placing it exactly where I wanted to. But always, always with this car, respect is needed with that throttle. Did I mention that apart from 405 kW, there is some 680 Nm of torque on tap? You can turn off traction control if you must, but be warned, the car will become a handful…

Options and customisation choices

There are various options for the car, including a panoramic glass roof, which I feel is not at all necessary for South African sun-blessed dwellers. But the cool thing about Jaguars is that they come virtually fully equipped inclusive of the list price.  Nevertheless, there are some 70 000 ordering combinations you can choose between, and Hastie reckons you should have your personally-specced F-Type in your garage some three months after placing your order, if you elect to not merely order one off the showroom floor.

One of the best things about the coupe is that it rectifies the luggage capacity issue which its convertible sibling suffered greatly from. Essentially, there was no boot space for anything larger than a laptop bag.

Pricing

Pricing for the Coupe starts at an ultra-competitive R843 404, with R982 404 buying you the excellent 280 kW V6-engined S, and R1 534 189 securing the monster Jaguar F-Type R Coupe, which has, it has to be said, not mere sports-car, but supercar levels of go. Look at a 0-100 km/h time of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 300 kph for the top of the range. What a bargain!

Summary

It is heartening to realise that Jaguar as a brand has doubled its sales volumes in South Africa since 2011, and that since introducing the F-Type convertible, some 300 examples of this fine sports car have been sold.

The achievement of the new F-Type Coupe is that, even more so than convertible, this British-built sports car is able to be compared with the world’s benchmark in sportscar, Porsche. Considering that the F-Type is in effect the first uncompromised sports car that Jaguar has made since 1948 that is no mean achievement, as Porsche (which also launched its first sport car in ’48), has been focussing on sports cars for the past six decades.

Jaguar F-Type Coupe Price Announced for SA

The Jaguar F-Type Coupe price has been announced and the vehicle has been officially launched in SA.

We drove the Jaguar F-Type Coupe earlier this year at its international launch in Barcelona and we attended its local unveiling in Durban. Stuart Johnston attended the launch and he’ll be posting his thoughts before the end of the week. In the meantime, let’s see which models of F-Type coupe Jaguar bought in and what they’re going to cost.

Range

Headlining the coupe range is the F-Type R with a monstrous 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine. This motor pushes out 405 kW and 680 Nm, and you’ll see 100 kph come up in a claimed time of 4.2 seconds and the car will go onto a limited top-end speed of 300 kph. This is a proper machine and performance is aimed at the supercar market.

There’s also the F-Type S coupe and base-model coupe versions. These cars have 280 kW and 250 kW respectively. Power comes from a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 motor and performance is claimed to be brisk. How does 4.9 seconds to 100 kph in the S Coupe grab you? Even the basic entry-level F-Type is pretty quick. It gets to 100 kph in 5.3 seconds – not slow in anyone’s books.

Now with boot space

The number one gripe about the Jaguar F-Type convertible was the problematic lack of boot space. Simply, there was none. In the coupe this has been solved and the hardtop F-Type coupe can hold up to 407 litres of cargo. In normal speak, two sets of golf clubs will go easily go in.

Jaguar F-Type coupe price in South Africa

Naturally, the Jaguar F-Type Coupe price is slightly cheaper than the convertible. It does sound like a lot of money, but these luxury sportscars come loaded with specification meaning you won’t be spending huge amounts on optional extras.

• F-Type – R843 404

• F-Type S – R982 404

• F-Type V8 R – R1 534 189

Production Ready Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle Revealed

Official images of the production version Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) which is scheduled to go on sale in 2015 have been revealed.

The Toyota FCV first came into light as a concept model earlier this year. The production version looks very much like the concept and is said to be the company’s first ever mass produced hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle.

Although Toyota is still to reveal more information on the model, the image show it sporting a huge front bumper with a low grille along with some slim headlights which seem to feature LED technology, as well as vertical daytime running lights.

Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle details

Spec details are yet to be confirmed, but the automaker previously mentioned that the model will be able to complete the 0-100 kph run in just 10 seconds, and will offer a maximum range of around 482 km. The process to fill up with hydrogen will only take about three minutes. Fuel cell vehicles represent an interesting alternative to electric cars such as the BMW i3 and hybrids like the Toyota Auris HSD, and have one unique ability – the by-product of the engine is water vapour.

However the technology is very expensive and let’s be honest, have you ever seen a hydrogen station in SA? Even in first world places like California, hydrogen stations are rare and mostly in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

That said, the aim is to make this car affordable and approximate pricing for the Toyota Fuel Cell Vehicle has been announced. Seven million Yen, or about R800 000 is competitive, considering most would assume a car like this would cost well over R1 million.

We’ll keep you posted when more details emerge.

Jaguar F-Type Project 7 Given Green Light

The Jaguar F-Type Project 7 has been given the green light to build a limited number of the special edition F-Type that pays homage to its seven outright Le Mans victories. Best news of all: it’s confirmed for South Africa although we’re not sure how many will come and how much they’ll cost.

Developed by the Special Operations division inside JLR, the Jaguar F-Type Project 7 is the most powerful production Jaguar ever built. It pays homage to Jaguar’s seven outright Le Mans victories with distinctive design cues inspired by the Jaguar D-type which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

Uprated Power

The Project 7 has had its power uprated from the standard F-Type R Coupe to 423 kW with 680 Nm of torque. This, together with 80kg less weight than the convertible, means it will launch to 100 kph in 3.8 seconds and has to be electronically limited to 298 kph.

The Jaguar F-Type Project 7 benefits from bespoke front suspension which give increased negative camber, revised top mounts and new front/rear anti-roll bars. The front and rear spring and damper units are height adjustable, and both spring rates and damper internals have been tailored specifically.

Jaguar F-Type Project 7 Special bits

The bits that hark back to the three-time Le Mans winning D-type are the fairing behind the driver’s head, a shorter windshield, new front bumper and a few aerodynamic parts to help with downforce. The D-type was only raced as a single-seater, but the Jaguar F-Type Project 7 has been developed as a two-seater and the passenger also benefits from the safety of a second rollover hoop.

Early suggestions are that despite the limited run of 250 Jaguar F-Type Project 7 cars, South Africa will be on the export list. The car’s first official debut will be at the Goodwood festival of speed and sits alongside the show-stopping Range Rover Sport SVR.

Ferrari Plans Cleaner and More Powerful Cars

A new report from Automotive News suggests that Ferrari plans on launching new models with reduced CO2 emissions and even more power by 2021.

The report goes on to say that Ferrari plans to reduce these emissions by 3% each year for a total of about 20% by the year 2021. These efforts are already being made with the company’s latest products which are powered by new turbocharged V8 engines and V12 powered models that rely on hybrid systems.

Ferrari plans new and cleaner products

The new Ferrari California T unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show demonstrated this improvement with its new 3.9-litre V8 engine that reduces CO2 emissions by over 16 percent per kilometre to 250 grams compared to the naturally aspirated 4.3-litre V8 it replaces.

Among the new models planned to be launched is a 2015 M458-T Italia which is a more powerful version of the 458 Italia delivering a potent 499 kW. Next year could see the launch of a limited edition LaFerrari along with a LaFerrari Spider which will be limited to 50 units and will be twice as expensive as its sibling.

There’s also a mid-cycle refresh planned for the Ferrari FF in 2016, which will receive an increase of power to 522 kW and will also be offered with a twin-turbo V8 engine. The same year will also see a slightly revised F12 while in 2017 Ferrari plans to bring out a second generation California fitted with the same power retractable hardtop.

Range Rover Sport SVR Teased Again (Video)

The Range Rover Sport SVR will make its debut at the Goodwood festival of speed as the fastest and most powerful Land Rover ever produced. What’s more, the new SVR badging will be worn by all future high performance Land Rovers and Jaguars as the brand sets new performance goals for itself.

We saw the Range Rover Sport SVR in a teaser clip earlier this week and now we know its official name is the SVR, a Nurburgring-honed track SUV that pushes the limits of an SUV’s handling capabilities.

The Range Rover Sport SVR is capable of 404 kW and from the sounds it makes in the video below it may have eaten a Mercedes-Benz AMG engine for a mid-morning snack. The first sight we’ll get of the Range Rover Sport SVR is when it takes to the Goodwood hillclimb this weekend.

Range Rover Sport SVR on the Nurburgring

David Coulthard’s Tour of Goodwood (video)

With the Goodwood festival of Speed happening this weekend (27 June 2014) it’s nice to remember that it’s not just a cars in the park weekend picnic, but an actual hillclimb challenge as well. The hillclimb takes place inside the grounds of Lord March’s estate in West Sussex and has seen crowds grow to 150 000 people over the course of the three days.

Vehicle manufacturers take this opportunity at Goodwood to launch loads of new products to a captive audience, sports models being the main attraction. This year the likes of the new Ford Focus ST, Range Rover Sport special edition and the BMW Individual M4 are just some of the uprated sports models on the cards.

In this video, David Coulthard provides the corner-by-corner tour of the legendary climb, which has been on the calendar since 1993. The lap record for the climb is still held by ex F1 driver Nick Heidfeld in a McLaren MP4/13 with a time of 41.6s.

The car Coulthard drives up the Goodwood hill is the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series.

David Coulthard guided tour of Goodwood hillclimb

Production Begins for 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth with New Automatic Transmission

Fiat has announced it will be offering the 2015 500 Abarth with a specially-tuned optional six-speed automatic transmission.

The six-speed automatic transmission has been paired with the 1.4-litre MultiAir Turbo engine, tuned to deliver up to 117 kW and 248 Nm of torque.

The transmission has been further reinforced with more clutch plates and a more robust heat treatment allowing higher torque capability. The Sport mode calibration allows for an even more engaged driving experience with special features such as fuel-cut upshifts, rev-matching downshifts, brake-assist downshifts, corner gear hold and fast-off gear hold, as well as a more aggressive pedal map.

“Accessible performance has always been a hallmark of the Abarth name,” said Jason Stoicevich, Head of FIAT Brand for North America, Chrysler Group LLC.

“Now, with the addition of an optional automatic transmission, an entirely new group of customers will be able to experience the thrill of driving the Fiat 500 Abarth lineup. Fiat 500 Abarth sales increased more than 16 percent during this year, and we expect this sales success to continue with the launch of this new automatic transmission.”

Fiat says production of the US-spec 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth and Abarth Cabrio started this week in Toluca, Mexico. The 2015 500 Abarth is scheduled to go on sale later this year.

Opel Astra GTC Enhanced With New Diesel Unit

Opel has updated the Astra GTC with the company’s new 1.6-litre CDTI engine that is already on offer on the rest of the Astra line-up.

Astra GTC engine specs

The new 1.6-litre CDTI engine replaces the previous 1.7-litre unit, and delivers 100 kW and 320 Nm of torque – an increase of 5 kW and 20 Nm. With the all-new aluminium turbo diesel, the Opel Astra GTC manages to return an average 4.1l/100 km and emits 109 g/km of CO2.

The model can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 10.2 seconds before hitting a top speed of 198 kph.

In addition being faster than its predecessor, the new 1.6 CDTI engine comes with Start/Stop, plus a braking energy recuperation system as standard and is coupled with an improved six-speed manual transmission. The engine is also the first in the Astra family to already comply with the future Euro 6 emissions standard, making it the cleanest diesel Opel has ever built.

Marketed as a “whisper-diesel” thanks to its low operating noises and running smoothness, the Astra GTC 1.6 CDTI is currently available to order. South African availability is yet to be confirmed.

BMW Individual M4 for Goodwood

The first ever BMW Individual M4 Coupe built for the UK will be shown at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in all its Tanzanite Blue glory.

BMW Individual M4 details

What makes this M4 a bit more special is the accessories that have been fitted to it thanks to the folks at BMW M Performance.

These include a carbon-fibre front splitter, carbon-fibre rear spoiler, carbon-fibre rear diffuser and carbon-fibre wing mirrors.

The distinctive look is complemented by the M Performance sports exhaust, with Titanium exhaust trims, and by interior enhancements including an Alcantara steering wheel with race display. Built especially in time for the 2014 Festival of Speed, the vehicle’s specification was chosen by fans of PistonHeads.com. The car will also be driven up the hill by British racing legend Tiff Needell.

Also on show at the BMW stand at Goodwood is the BMW M4 Convertible, BMW i8 and the BMW M5 30 Jahre (30 year anniversary model).