By: Denis Droppa
New York - Even with its electronic stability control, keeping a rein on Jaguar’s two-wheel-drive F-Type R is akin to riding a rodeo bull – a rather grumpy one.
With a snorting 405kW and 680Nm thrust to the rear wheels by the supercharged 5-litre V8, this British brute can be something of a handful to drive, and throttle inputs have to be carefully managed to keep it on the black stuff and pointing in generally the right direction.
Jaguar’s now launched an all-wheel-drive version in an attempt to tame the beast and make it a better all-weather car. Dubbed Intelligent Driveline Dynamics (IDD), it’s an all-wheel-drive system that works in conjunction with the stability control and torque vectoring to monitor driving conditions and distribute torque between the front and rear axles to provide the best grip, while still maintaining a rear-biased feel. Normally 100% of the torque’s at the back wheels, but when the driver starts getting playful some of the power’s directed forwards to prevent the car from becoming a tail-happy handful.
NO COMPROMISE
And so it proved when I drove this grippier new F-Type R coupé around the Monticello circuit in Pennsylvania, USA, where the car’s international media launch was held last week. All-wheel-drive systems can sometimes produce frustrating understeer, but Jaguar’s engineers have done a good job of making this car easier and safer to drive while still giving it a crisp corner-hugging nature to please driving purists.
The extra traction also makes this all-wheel-drive F-Type R a safer option on wet roads.
On the dry racetrack the main benefit of having drive to both axles was felt in being able to boot the throttle earlier out of tight corners, without the lurid tailslides (when the stability control’s minimised or switched off) that similar throttle treatment would provoke in the rear-wheel-drive car.
Jag’s powerful two-seater carved the curves with great distinction but still displayed a playful rear end when traction limits were exceeded. It’s a somewhat more civilised car than the rear-driven one, but still requires plenty of respect.
EVEN FASTER
The added traction improves the quoted 0-100km/h time to 4.1 seconds (a one-tenth improvement over the 2WD version) while top speed is the same at 300km/h. Claimed fuel consumption’s up by nearly two litres per 100km, however.
Like the two-wheel-drive version, the AWD Jag has a lightweight aluminium body and offers normal, rain, and dynamic driving modes that affect the responses of the throttle, steering and transmission. If you jab a button playfully marked with a chequered flag it turns the car into a sabre-toothed version of itself, with all the settings turned to angry mode. There’s also a button that liberates an acoustically spectacular V8 roar from the quartet of tailpipes.
As part of a range-wide change the power steering in the F-Type has been changed from a hydraulic to an electrically-assisted system, which Jaguar says saves fuel without affecting the feel.
Turning the tiller feels much as I remember it from before; very sharp and direct but perhaps a little light, and lacking the more weighted feel you get from the likes of a Porsche.
The transmission is the familiar eight-speed Quickshift auto used since the F-Type’s launch.
Lower down in the range the V6 supercharged F-Type has acquired a new six-speed manual but Jaguar won’t be bringing this version to South Africa.
The AWD F-Type R gains a unique bonnet design featuring a deeper power bulge and distinctive new vents. It sells for R 1 709 387, which is a premium of R88 036 over the two-wheel-drive version.
Mercury Motoring