Jaguar F-Type V8 S vs Aston Martin V8 Vantage vs Porsche 911 Carrera S (video)

Chris Harris has taken Jaguar’s new F-Type V8 S and pitted it against the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and Porsche 911 Carrera S – on road and on track. Which is best?

If any car has grabbed the headlines in 2013, it’s the new Jaguar F-Type.

We thought the F-Type was going to be a rival for the Porsche Boxster, but it arrived with too big a price tag for that to be relevant, and too much power – certainly in V8 S guise – to draw comparison with anything other than the Porsche 911.

So we concluded that with its stunning performance the 911 was its natural target, but we also asked if the new F-Type was really a better, cheaper Aston Martin Vantage?

We compared the F-Type to the V12 Vantage – their performance, if not their price, are comparable – but Drive’s Chris Harris decided to pit the new F-Type against the cheaper (but still more expensive than the F-Type) V8 Vantage (maybe he couldn’t hustle a V12 Vantage for the comparison?) and the latest Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet.

All three are truly desirable sports convertibles, but which one is best?

The V8 Vantage is certainly the oldest, the least powerful and the most expensive, but it’s also the prettiest. The Porsche 911 is doubtless the most thoroughly engineered, the most practical and a lot cheaper than the Aston Martin. But it’s not the prettiest car on the road.

Can the new Jaguar F-Type compete against two such diverse rivals? Which does Chris rate as the best car in the real world? We won’t spoil it – you’ll have to watch the video.

But it’s worth 25 minutes of your time.

Related Photos: Jaguar F-Type

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Related Photos: Aston Martin V8 Vantage

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Related Photos: Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet

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