t25torx
t25torx Dork
10/27/17 1:10 p.m.

I managed to be lucky enough to have lunch with a tech vendor the other day and got to conversing about hobbies. I mentioned my car hobby and they mentioned an event happening later that day they had lined up with a local exotic car rental company and invited me to come along. I naturally jumped at the chance.

The cars they had available were the Jaguar F-Type R, a Lamborghini Huracan, and a C7 Stingray (yeah I shook my head at that choice).

The Lambo was obviously the car I had intended to get my grubby mitts on, but when I showed up the hood cover was open and the car was apparently inop after having done one lap and calling it quits in traditional Italian fashion. So I signed up and waited for my name to be called to drive the Jag.

While waiting I got witness the ridiculous sounds that the Jag makes at full throttle. I kinda had to chuckle at it, as it kinda reminded me of a mustang with glasspacks, don't get me wrong, it sounded amazing but at the same time almost comically loud.

During the wait time, the guys managed to figure out they had been bamboozled by the red Italian and that it was merely out of gas, though still showed a 1/4 tank. Go figure.  After it was running again the line for the Jag suddenly got a lot shorter. I waited a little while to see hwo fast the line for the Lambo would go, but it looked like the event would be over before I got called, so I jumped into the short line for the Jag.

First impressions.

Nice interior, nice seats. Steering wheel was a nice size and shape. Good forward visibility.

Got belted in, RACE mode on, exhaust mode set to 11.. The instructor was not keen on my idea to turn traction control off. Another time perhaps.

We did one pace lap of the parking lot cone course to get familiar, then I was let loose.

It's a fast car.. and loud.. did I mention it's loud? Also, the brakes are just phenomenal on this thing. While watching the other drivers before me I could see where they were braking, I decided to push it as far past their point as I dared, I could have gone way deeper than what I did, they really are outstanding.

Handling on the little course was good, though admittedly I was more interested in trying to get the car sideways, but the AWD or the traction control had other thoughts, any time I started to get the rear loose the computers would politely correct me and put a stop to my shenanigans.

In a straight line it was a hoot, but I was a little disappointed, it just didn't feel as fast as 550hp ought to feel. This was the fastest/most powerful car I have driven to date, but I felt like it should have been faster.. dunno why.

Final thoughts.

It was loud, it was fun. But it's not $100,000 worth of fun.

Only have this crappy cell pic to prove any of this is true.

Cotton
Cotton PowerDork
10/27/17 1:22 p.m.

The guy I bought my Modena from replaced it with a brand new F-type R.  I didn't get to drive it,  but they definitely look and sound awesome.

Driven5
Driven5 SuperDork
10/27/17 1:26 p.m.
t25torx said:

In a straight line it was a hoot, but I was a little disappointed, it just didn't feel as fast as 550hp ought to feel. This was the fastest/most powerful car I have driven to date, but I felt like it should have been faster.. dunno why.

The sensation of speed gets engineered out of cars as they become more and more capable.

dean1484
dean1484 MegaDork
10/27/17 2:00 p.m.

The electronic nanny make cars feel numb and slow.  Also as, I learned with my very brief ownership of an S type R Jaguar, #s on paper are real but with the S type you never get to actually see or use all of it.  This may be the case with the F type (I am speculating here)

 

 

racerdave600
racerdave600 UltraDork
10/27/17 2:06 p.m.

Reminds me when I first drove the 2nd gen Viper.  500hp didn't feel all that strong.  I was a bit underwhelmed to be honest.  I 2nd the F-Type sound.  I followed one in traffic the other day, and it was really loud.  Sure is nice looking though.

Joe Gearin
Joe Gearin Associate Publisher
10/27/17 2:54 p.m.

In normal mode the F-Type R's exhaust isn't very loud, it's just when you are in Sport or Race mode--- then you get the crackling, popping and all kinds of cool noises. 

 

We had one around the office and I loved it.  Would've loved it more with a manual trans, but life isn't perfect.   Very sexy shape, great noises and an aggressive attitude.  I'd take one in a heartbeat over a 911.  

Vigo
Vigo UltimaDork
10/27/17 6:06 p.m.

Cool opportunity.  I know i'm weird but i want to drive one of the v6/manuals. 

dculberson
dculberson PowerDork
10/27/17 6:43 p.m.

I wasn't passed by an f-type R on the freeway and thought Jaguar has really stepped up their game. They look fantastic. 

JoeTR6
JoeTR6 HalfDork
10/27/17 9:08 p.m.

If I went crazy and bought an F-type, I'd probably stick with the V6.  I passed one of the V8s today with my top down, and it was crazy loud.  I couldn't hear a TR6 engine over it.  No thanks.

wlkelley3
wlkelley3 UltraDork
10/28/17 7:51 p.m.

I got to spend 24 hours with an early F type R convertible a couple years ago. V6. Yeah, really nice fun car. Put my non-stock RX8 to shame. The engine turning off at stops was a bit irritating and I kept forgetting to turn that off every time I got in it But it was the quickest to turn back on when release the brake pedal out of all the cars I've driven that had that feature. It is is in top 3 cars I would buy if I win the lottery.

kb58
kb58 Dork
10/28/17 8:34 p.m.

I suspect the reason for them not feeling like 500 hp is the weight. Just recently I found out the Dodge Hellcat is something like 4480 lbs without driver.. I had to read that twice to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Nope.

The weights of modern sports cars is just nuts, but a direct consequence of us demanding every option and safety feature. 

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