Jaguar F-Type SVR - 200mph Art

2016 Jaguar F-Type SVR

The Jaguar F-Type has caused quite a stir since it first appeared three years or so ago. Partly this is because the tail-happy V8 version is the loudest thing in the world (probably), partly because it starred in the "It's Good To Be Bad" advert, but mostly I suspect because it looks truly desirable from any angle, and especially so in person. In fact, the short but sweet two-seater has grabbed the car world's attention so completely that nobody even remembered the bigger XK... and nobody noticed it go out of production in mid-2014 either.

With either a supercharged V6 in two tunes or a thunderous supercharged 5.0 V8, the lesser-cylinder'd engines later became available with a manual transmission - something Jaguar hadn't offered in decades - and to rein in the mighty 490-550bhp V8 versions, All-Wheel-Drive became an option too.

Then, for a bit of fun and a chance to reference the '50s Le Mans winners, there was the Project 7 speedster, with even more power and even more loudness from the V8, a chopped windscreen and a slightly out-of-place-looking rear wing. That had 575 horsepower and was preposterously over-engined for a little rear-wheel-drive car.

But that was a limited-run special edition. What about everyone who missed out? Well, now that Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division have finished building P7s, they can build a new hotrod version for the rest of us: the SVR... which stands for... Special Vehicle...... Roperations??? I'm not sure.

Regardless, the SVR was leaked onto the internet and we now know that it's a pretty serious beast, with flared this and louvred that and the Project 7's rear wing. We also know that this one is all-wheel-drive to contain the mighty 575PS and 424lb/ft of oomph. The extra driven wheels mean it can do 0-60mph in 3.7 seconds, 0.4 faster than the non-SVR equivalent despite only a small power increase and the same ZF-supplied 8-speed automatic gearbox.

Top speed? A headline-grabbing 200mph. That makes this the first Jaaaaaaaag to do the double-ton since the XJ220 of the 1990s, and yet SVO say that, despite the adaptive sports suspension, electronic LSD, titanium exhaust and (optional) carbon-ceramic brakes, this wild cat still manages to have all the civility and everyday usability of an XF or something. Yup, another "everyday supercar." Maybe that explains why, despite boasting an all-aluminium structure, it weighs about the same as a Nissan GT-R at over 1700kg...

Prices and more comprehensive stats will be available when it's unveiled properly at the Geneva Motor Show. For now, here's some moody action shots and some exhaust growl. Grrrr.