Jaguar's sporting chance

Jaguar's new F-Type two-seater sports car due for launch next spring could be the key to unlocking the brand's return to motorsport.

Brand boss Adrian Hallmark said: "In terms of a return to racing we have made no commitment but we absolutely want to - but not in F1 or Le Mans. Those are too expensive. Motorsport is all about customer engagement and the F-type is clearly a sports car. There are all sorts of moves in terms of regulation changes going on at the moment in motorsport and this all starts to make things more attractive to us in terms of cost."

The F-Type, he said, is on track for launch in late April - just the right time of year to be launching a cabrio but the weather was obviously not the main consideration for developing a topless model first.

Hallmark said: "The sports car market is 50-50 cabrio coupe so it really makes no difference as to which one you start with, but the cabrio is more complicated to engineer so we are taking route one to the summit. The coupe should be easier to develop from there."

Not to mention the fact that profit margins on the cabrio are potentially greater.

The F-Type and XK will also be at the forefront in the emergence of a high performance sub-brand, a ball which has already started rolling with Jaguar's R and RS models. Hallmark said there is a good business case for a sub brand given the success of the XKRS - the brand's first £100,000+ model: "and we are selling all that we can build", said Hallmark.

He added: "R can stand for real performance and RS will be an extension of that. This will also allow us to expand in terms of merchandising and accessories much in the same way as M Sport does for BMW or AMG for Mercedes."

2012 Jaguar XKR-S ROAD TEST (Josh Ross)

For Jaguar, high performance coupes are the equivalent of home games for a table leading Premiership football club.

They are Jaguar’s fiefdom; customers are on their side, require no conversion and in theory know what to expect.

With experience of producing illustrious forebears such as E Type, XJS and the first XK, is an ultra high performance XK not like, say, Manchester United Football Club playing a mid table ranking club at home?  Surely it represents little challenge and if successful, no great achievement.

By contrast and comparatively, diesel saloons are the trying away game for Jaguar or the equivalent of a club using many new players. They may take time to develop a winning formation; to learn each other’s nuances and achieve league glory for the team.

Ostensibly, neither outcome is as expected. Back in 2004 and right from the off Jaguar created a 2.7 diesel S-Type that was every bit as good as BMW’s then class leading 530d. And it’s Ford sourced 2.0d was used to supreme effect in X-Type, matching the smoothness and linearity of BMW’s contemporary diesel four pot.

Setting out to produce a highly focused, drivers car is also far more challenging than it once was even for masters of the art, Jaguar. Traditionally, they have used different tactics to those employed by Porsche and BMW in a bid to make XK outshine the 911 and 6 series.

The British marque’s coupes are less firm and promoted as the primary choice for long  journeys across open roads, motorways and indeed the continent. The message is that they can compete dynamically and visually but make less physical demands on the driver – more Mercedes SL than Porsche 911.

But with XKR-S they are competing with more powerful, enthusiast aimed vehicles such as the Porsche GT3, Maserati GranTurismo S and BMW M6.

Visually, the XKR-S model delivers that necessary, extra dose of sporting intent over the already butch XKR. There’s a  deeper front bumper with a gaping, raised side extension, a 10 mm drop in ride height and a carbonfibre rear wing. Together they reduce vertical lift and enhance its supercoupe credentials.

Adorned in darker, matt finished metal and swathed in red stitched leather the interior also feels suitably special, using expensive feeling switchgear that operates with a finely damped precision.

Thumb the starter button and the supercharged V8 explodes into life – few engines sound as charismatic as this. Jaguar have re-mapped the throttle and added a sports exhaust to increase the standard XKR’s power by 39 bhp to 542. Torque also climbs, the engine now producing 501 lb ft of the stuff; 40 more than the XKR.

Applying the throttle I unleash a good number of its 542 bhp. Instantly I’m pinned back in the seat and the car dashes towards the horizon. The sensation is akin to one you’d imagine feeling in a shuttle as it travels very fast towards space. Just tickling the throttle raises a smile of euphoric bliss and upping the pace sends adrenalin rushing through my body.

The engine’s voice is part nascar, part fighter jet – its hearty, complex bellow growing in volume as the needle nears the red line. Also apparent is a prodigious wave of torque that seems to blur the box’s six gear shifts into a single burst of action. This is no doubt helped by the engine’s excellent linearity and a gearbox whose ratios have been carefully matched to the unit’s power delivery.

With the car moving gracefully across the ground you notice the suspension swallowing up many harsh looking bumps and undulations. While some are filtered out before reaching the cabin, the ride at times lacks the compliance we’ve come to appreciate from Jaguar. It’s as if the springs don’t have sufficient rebound properties, even for an ultra sporting coupe that is supposed to be firmly sprung.

The steering too, is not without fault. It would benefit from a heavier, more responsive action. This would give the driver confidence to extract the car’s monumental performance more often while deriving added pleasure from the experience.

Words and Photos by Josh Ross (www.http://joshsross.wordpress.com)

Technical Data

Price as tested: £97.430

Engine: 5.0 32v 542bhp - 0-62mph: 4.2 secs - Maximum Speed: 186mph -

Economy: 14.9mpg (urban) –33mpg (extra-urban), 23mpg (combined) -Emissions: 292g/km (Band M) - VED (12 months): £475

Dimensions: Length: 4794mm - Width: 1892mm - Height: 1322mm - Wheelbase: 2752mm

*Data from Jaguar UK

Verdict 

The abiding impression of the XKR-S is that Jaguar has succeeded in tackling the most focused sports cars at their own game. With its peerless body control and tastefully adapted interior it wants only for more transparent, sensitive steering and extra ride compliance. Jaguar has produced an endearing, blindingly fast car that offers a memorable driving experience. The car is defined by that perfectly calibrated engine and gearbox – together they are its crowning glory.

2012 Jaguar XF ROAD TEST (Josh Ross)

It’s been a great week for Jaguar with the marque securing a first place ranking in the 2012 J.D. Power Survey – the UK’s renowned vehicle ownership satisfaction survey. A stern test for all manufacturers it rates every aspect of vehicle ownership including performance, quality, economy, reliability and dealer service.

So it’s fair to assume that if asked, Jaguar’s customers would happily recommend their XK, XF or XJ to a colleague, friend or family member.

As the XF has been with us for over four years you’d be forgiven for thinking that it has slipped off some buyers radars. In this time new models from Lexus, BMW, Mercedes and Audi have all been launched. With greater recognition among the public and a broader selection of model variants they looked set to steal XF’s limelight.

The results from J.D. Power’s survey tell a different story. Far from being overshadowed, XF has climbed 15 places in 12 months to win their ‘Executive Car of the Year’.

Jaguar’s success lies in some clever, essential life cycle updates that allow XF to remain not only competitive but to lead its class in many areas.

Tata’s considerable investment has allowed Jaguar’s engineers and designers a greater degree of artistic licence than they enjoyed under Ford. The result is this, the updated XF Sedan. Chief among the changes is a reprofiled nose with distinctive, feline-esque gazers encircled by daytime running lights and a new, 2.2 diesel engine available in two states of tune.

In pre-facelift guise the car looked sleek and elegant but it’s frontal aspect was the least successful design feature. Anonymously styled front lights could easily have adorned any number of mid sized US sedans built locally and designed for the home market. So successful is this redesign that it makes the car appear more lithe and poised – desirable qualities for any large, sporting vehicle.

While Jaguar shares premium brand positioning with rivals from Japan and Germany there is a disparity in its approach. Firstly, both exterior and interior designs are less imposing than you’ll find from competitor vehicles. Striking and finely crafted, XF’s interior combines metal, wood and leather to satisfy those who aspire to both modern and traditional luxury experiences. As the gear shift dial rises and the vents flip open to use, you’re reminded of those uber modern drinks cabinets or stereos one might find at an exclusive private members club or hotel. The type of devices so intelligently designed that you never tire of using them.

And then there’s the driving experience. Like its rivals XF can be hustled along at considerable pace – it has the body control and damping to swallow up all manner of undulations. But that’s not the billing of the SE specification model that I tested. The wide tyre wall provides a soft, comfortable ride but as speeds increase and you enter a tight turn mild understeer is felt.

Steering that is light but always feelsome helps you to quickly bond with the car. Soon you’re using the high mechanical grip and generous gobs of torque to send it down each straight and through the bends. Little adjustment or effort is needed.

Careering up the straights with some fearsome undulations I realise how nonchalantly this car switches between cruiser and bruiser. The engine’s power band is relatively short but operate between about 2.5 and 5k and you’ll get sufficient shove. At all revs the unit is impeccably refined and like the best of its breed adopts a distant but gravelly snarl just before the gearbox changes up. The box slips between its eight ratios almost imperceptibly, but the combination of a turbo charged engine and high gearing means that you’re occasionally caught off boost in a higher ratio than you’d like. You can either wait several seconds for the turbo to activate (as the speed increases subtly) or for more urgent progress further depress the throttle, prompting the box to hook up the previous gear instantly.

Words and Photos by Josh Ross (www.http://joshsross.wordpress.com)

Technical Data

Price as tested: £32,950

Engine: 2.2 16v 163bhp - 0-62mph: 9.8 secs - Maximum Speed: 130mph -

Economy: 42.8mpg (urban) –58.9mpg (extra-urban), 52.3mpg (combined) -Emissions: 149g/km (Band F) - VED (12 months): £120

Dimensions: Length: 4961mm - Width: 2053mm - Height: 1640mm - Wheelbase: 2909mm

*Data from Jaguar UK

Verdict

Both fleet and private buyers will quickly form an affinity with Jaguar’s new entry level model. This is a far cry from the poor performing and lowly specced premium vehicles that manufacturers once used to tempt buyers from their high spec. mainstream cars. Jaguar has successfully updated one of its most talented cars in decades, producing a refined, economical and elegant car that the J.D.Power results indicate will be a joy to own.