Geneva show: Jaguar confirms 3.7-second F-Type SVR

JAGUAR’S new sports flagship, the F-Type SVR, will touch down in Australia in the third quarter of this year, armed with a thumping 423kW supercharged V8 that can propel the two-door sportscar to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds – 0.4 seconds faster than the current F-Type sprint champion.

To be unveiled at next month’s Geneva motor show, the coupe version of the British company’s most powerful and fastest series production car can also hit 322km/h, putting it in elite supercar territory.

Australian buyers will pay $289,590 (plus on-roads) for the coupe and $308,470 for the convertible, representing price premiums of $47,310 and $47,490 respectively over the F-Type R AWD coupe and drop-top.

This makes the F-Type SVR convertible the most expensive Jaguar in the regular range, edging out the $294,720 XJR long wheelbase.

Jaguar Land Rover Australia senior public affairs executive James Scrimshaw told GoAuto today that the new F-Type variant put the company into new territory – one previously dominated by the likes of Porsche.

“We have never had an SVR in the range before, so this is the first time for us,” he said. “Until now, we have kept it under wraps, so we are not yet sure of demand – we will have a better idea by the time the car appears at Geneva.

“But we will be ordering as many as we can get, within certain limits.”

The F-Type SVR gets an upgraded version of Jaguar’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 based on the unit that powered the limited-edition F-Type Project 7, this time producing 423kW of power – 19kW more than the 404kW of the F-Type R – and 700Nm of torque, up 20Nm over the R’s ‘standard’ engine.

Fuel consumption is said to be the same as the F-Type R AWD – 11.3 litres per 100km on the EU test cycle, for both the coupe and convertible.

Described by Jaguar as an “all-weather supercar”, the SVR gets all-wheel drive as standard equipment, along with the ZF-built eight-speed automatic transmission with unique calibrations.

To aid performance, the SVR development team trimmed 25kg from the overall weight compared with the F-Type R AWD, using items such as a titanium sports exhaust and lighter wheels to trim grams.

Options such as carbon ceramic brakes and carbon-fibre roof can take the weight cut to 50kg.

The suspension has been given a pull-through, with a thicker rear anti-roll bar, revised damper valves and recalibrated adaptive dynamics software.

The 20-inch alloy wheels are wider than before, with 265/35 Pirelli P-Zero tyres on the front and 305/30s on the rear.

The standard steel brakes have 380mm discs with two-piston callipers on the front and 380mm discs down back. The ceramic units are 398mm and 380mm respectively.

Body wise, the design team opted for a wider front bumper to improve aerodynamics around the front and sides of the vehicle at high speed, to reduce drag and lift.

New bonnet vents have louvres that are said to improve engine cooling, while apertures in the wheel-arch liners help to reduce front lift, as does a flat undertray.

The designers also redesigned the deployable rear wing that is said to cut drag by 2.5 per cent while decreasing lift by 15 per cent.

Inside, new-look seats get quilted black leather sports seats and a suede-cloaked steering wheel. The seats and steering wheel get a choice of contrast stitching colours.

Tan or red leather interiors are optional, and include full leather wrapping of the instrument panel.

Last year, Jaguar Land Rover Australia sold 173 F-Types – a gain of 3.0 per cent over 2014 – with the honours evenly split between the V6 and V8 models.

Among those were 10 F-Type Project 7s – entire allocation for Australia of the limited-edition that went for more than $300,000 each.

2016 Jaguar F-Type SVR pricing*

Coupe (a)	$289,590
Convertible (a)	$308,470

*Excludes on-road costs