Jaguar F-type: a characterful and startling Jag

Jaguar's F-type was given the tough gig of following the E-type, the 1960s two-seater regarded as a timeless classic, says Giles Smith in The Sunday Times. That proved such a big ask that Jaguar waited 40 years before trying. This is the new F-type SVR, a model that's been through Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations, its hand-finishing depot where "its vital parts are wrung for further performance".

You may ask, says Smith, why a car that goes 200mph and is primed to burst out of your drive like a jet off an aircraft carrier looks so sumptuous inside and isn't rather stripped out and fitted with harnesses and fire extinguishers. But Jaguars are "at least as much about the smoking jacket as the smoking tyres" and driving this one is a powerful experience one that might possibly be wearing if repeated daily. "Then again, you don't know until you try."

The hefty price tag puts the Jag into competition with the likes of the Audi R8 V10, says Gareth Evans in Car. That's serious competition but then this Jaguar "packs some serious potential". The performance is "startling", yet well enough controlled and with powerful enough brakes to make that fun.

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The cabin is smart, and generally the car is a looker and feels and sounds very special indeed. It is a very likeable car. It certainly delivers more than enough performance to bear comparison with its closest rivals, says Matt Saunders in What Car: this Jaguar is "exciting, appealing and well-mannered" and has "character to burn".

Price: from £110,000Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged petrolPower: 568bhpTorque: 516 lb ftTop speed: 200mph0-62mph: 3.7 seconds