Jaguar F-Type R: Coupe or Roadster?

With the new Jaguar F-Type arriving in showrooms in spring 2013, will the follow-on performance F-Type R be a coupe or Roadster?

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After initially feeling that the new Jaguar F-Type seemed a bit on the pricey side, we re-evaluated our thoughts and decided the F-Type is actually a cut-price Aston Martin Vantage, with the F-Type V8 S offering similar performance to the V12 Vantage but at almost half the price.

But it’s clear that the new V8 F-Type S isn’t going to be the pinnacle of the F-Type range – far from it.

With Jaguar seeking to hang the whole brand identity on their first real roadster since the E-Type, a range-topping variant in the guise of an F-Type R is a certainty. But what will it offer, and will it be a Roadster or a Coupe?

In terms of power, the supercharged V8 in the F-Type already sees service in the XKR-S, where Jaguar have endowed it with an even more interesting 542bhp – 47bhp more than the V8 S F-Type. If Jaguar were to transplant the XKR-S engine in to the F-Type we would see an F-Type R with a sub-4 second 0-62mph and a top speed nudging 200mph.

But what if Jaguar were to turn the wick up on the supercharged V8 to something around 600bhp? We’re pretty sure the big V8 is capable of delivering 600bhp without making it either unreliable or unwieldy, and an F-Type R with 600bhp at its disposal would be quite spectacular.

Performance for the F-Type R would then promise something in the mid 3 second range to 62mph and a top speed that could break 200mph, the sort of performance that would embarrass just about anything you could compare it to, especially with a likely price tag just the wrong side of £100k.

But when Jaguar do deliver the F-Type R, will it be a coupe or a Roadster?

The F-Type was designed as a Roadster (the fastback coupe we saw first was based on the already signed-off Roadster) so it would make sense to deliver the F-Type R as a Roadster.

But the prospect of an F-Type R Coupe in Jaguar’s range is so appealing we can’t see them being able to resist making it, especially with Jaguar’s sales in the short to medium term having to rely on variants of current models rather than all new ones.

But whether we get an F-Type R as a Roadster or Coupe, it will be 2014 before it hits showrooms. But we’d put money on the F-Type R eventually arriving as a Roadster and a Coupe.

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