Cat with a hot tin roof
When Jaguar first unveiled its new F-Type roadster, they hailed it as the first full-blooded Jaguar sports car in 50 years.
The long-awaited, much-hyped spiritual successor to the iconic E-Type Jag had it all. The looks, the performance, the mystique.
All except for one thing. A roof.
You see, the purists will tell you that convertibles aren't really sports cars.
They'll say that, despite the joys of feeling the wind in your hair and sun on your brow, convertibles and roadsters are inherently inferior to their hard-roofed siblings in terms of driving dynamics.
To be a proper sports car, you have to have a proper roof.
Now, Jaguar has settled that argument with the arrival of the F-Type Coupe blending all the beauty, performance and allure of the British brand's latest flagship model and giving it a hardtop.
A cat with a hot tin roof, if you like.
Jaguar, for its part, says the new coupe is the most dynamically capable, performance-focused car ever to wear the famous leaping cat badge. High praise for such a fabled marque. It's truly an evolution of that timeless E-Type.
But the F-Type Coupe also represents evolution in reverse. Normally you design a sports car as a coupe with the extra structural strength and rigidity that comes with a full steel canopy then at some later point, you slice off the ceiling to create a convertible version.
Jaguar did things the other way around with the F-Type.
The result is the ultimate Cat in a Hat.
Here's the good news. Its' not only more rigid and hence more sporty - than its soft-top sibling. It's arguably prettier.
Not to mention cheaper by about $20-grand.
In fact the coupe wins as many admiring glances as if you were walking down the street, or into a car park, with Catwoman herself.
I had one bloke do an entire circuit of the F-Type, filming the whole time with his iPhone, while I sat at a red light. Don't drive this car if you're not prepared to be noticed, particularly in the vivid red Salsa tone of our test machine.
Styling-wise, it's at least as visually fetching if not more so as its soft-topped sibling.
Uber-designer Ian Callum's fingerprints are all over the coupe's flowing silhouette, the elegantly sloping rear profile and those powerful haunches.
It's beautifully proportioned with the long bonnet and cockpit giving way to a stubby, crisply-styled rear end.
Viewed from the rear, the car appears as wide and low-slung as it feels from inside the snug two-seat cockpit.
That confined space brings with it all kinds of advantages. For a start, the Meridian audio system sounds fabulous when it's captured in such a small area.
Cabin controls fall readily to hand. Everything feels within easy reach.
The downside, of course, is that fixed roof neutralises one of the other great aural pleasures of the F-Type, the engine note from those centrally-located, trumpet-shaped twin exhausts.
In the drop-top the glorious sound of that force-fed V6 is constantly on tap. In the coupe, though, I had to resort to driving through tunnels with my window down to enjoy that sweet note, more of a bark than the purr or growl you'd expect from a big cat like this.
It's particularly sonorous when the car is switched to Dynamic mode when exhaust baffles are opened up, throttle response is sharpened and gearshifts, particularly when using the shift paddles, are more urgent.
There's the odd pop on upshifts under hard acceleration and a glorious crackle and rattle when you're shifting down through the eight-speed box.
The coupe will be offered with three basic engine options, two with supercharged V6 engines and the flagship with a frighteningly powerful 364kW V8.
We tested the entry-level version with its supercharged V6 producing a more than adequate 250kW. If your wallet stretches to the $151,000 V6 S, you can expect 30kW more power plus some additional equipment and a 0-100km/h sprint time of less than five seconds. The V8 F-Type R tops $200,000 making our test machine seem like a steal at $119,900.
It will still reach the speed limit in just shy of five seconds, possesses impressive mid-range acceleration and instant throttle response despite lacking the gaudy performance numbers of its more powerful stablemates.
We enjoyed the F-Type's handling. In roadster form it was more than capable enough for our requirements but there's no doubt the coupe feels a bit tighter, a bit stiffer and a bit more responsive in every respect.
But the ride is still compliant enough to please those people most likely to buy this car - middle-aged execs who've probably lusted after an E-Type their whole lives.
Like the roadster, the coupe's cockpit is snug and thoughtfully laid out with all switches and dials tilted towards the driver. Controls are arranged in groups by function, a feature that Jaguar says mimics the cockpits of fighter aeroplanes.
The leather-clad seats are smart and supportive and electrically adjustable in just about any direction, with buttons sensibly located on the door panels.
The driver can customise the driving experience by selecting Dynamic mode with a switch on the centre console, and there are also buttons to raise or lower the rear spoiler (which automatically deploys at highways speeds anyway) and another to open the exhaust baffles to their full glory (highly recommended).
The spoiler is adorned by a Jaguar logo and the famous leaper can be seen through the rear-view mirror when the foil is deployed. That's a welcome touch, for those who needed reminding that they're behind the wheel of a Jag.
But as well as the obvious advantages of choosing the coupe over the roadster, there's one final, more practical reason. The boot.
At 400 litres, it's surprisingly useful - certainly more so than the useless cargo space of the roadster - and Jaguar boasts that it's able to accommodate two sets of golf clubs. One for each occupant.
Now that's what I call evolution.
A true sports car, indeed.
JAGUAR F-TYPE V6 COUPE DETAILS: Two-door, two-seat sports car with supercharged V6 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission.
TECH STUFF: 3-litre, supercharged V6 produces 250kW, 450Nm; eight-speed automatic transmission with wheel-mounted shift paddles and sport mode; front-engined, rear-wheel-drive.
FEATURES: Jaguar high-performance braking system, sports suspension with adaptive dynamics, active exhaust system, hydraulically-operated rear spoiler; leather sports seats with leather finishes throughout cabin; satellite navigation; premium audio system with Bluetooth connectivity and audio streaming; limited slip differential.
PERFORMANCE: 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds; top speed 275km/h.
THIRST: 9.1L/100km.
VERDICT: A new classic gets a harder edge.
BOTTOM LINE: From $119,900 plus onroad costs
