Convertibles come into their own at this time of the year with temperatures close to perfect in the UAE.
There are plenty to choose from out there, from the super-luxurious built for leisurely cruising around town in the warm glow of the evening without ruining the new hair-do to those born to be wild with high-end performance and an engine sound-track to match – enter the brilliant Jaguar F-Type V8 S Convertible.
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You can, of course, use this car as a pose-mobile and drive at a gentle pace while the masses look on in admiration but, no…oh no, you don’t want to do that! This beast is far more at home, and much more fun, when you put pedal to metal, blast through the gears and experience the glorious 5-litre V8 in full song as it propels you from 0-100kmh in just 4.3 seconds.
The Jaguar F-Type has been a huge success since it was launched, which is just as well as Jaguar had banked a shed load of money and their reputation on this car. The coupe version is an absolute stunner and, in my opinion, beats the drop-top version on looks, but the convertible is also beautiful and is literally a breath of fresh air, or rather a blast of wind in your hair if you are a fan of open-top motoring.
There are clear design nods to the legendary E-Type, particularly at the back, but the F-Type looks sleek, compact and with its aggressive stance, sitting on 20-inch turbine alloy wheels, leaves you in no doubt that it has the power to impress.
The interior of this car is incredibly compact so don’t expect lots of storage space because there isn’t any. The whole cabin is designed around the driver with everything you need to drive and control the car’s set-up and infotainment system easily at hand, mainly accessed through the touch screen on the centre console. The seats are incredibly comfortable and the only small niggle is that slightly old fashioned steering wheel which I am not a fan of.
I drove the V6 S version of this car last year and I loved it but the V8 S is a different animal all together offering far more grunt and therefore more driver satisfaction. It is everything a Jaguar sports car should be and more.
The car is built using lightweight aluminium architecture which means it is light without compromising on strength and safety. The handling is impressive thanks to the double wishbone front and rear suspension combined with Jaguar’s adaptive dynamics system which controls body movement and makes this car incredibly agile.
To drive it is an absolute delight from the minute you push the bronze coloured starter button to fire up that superb all-aluminium 32-valve supercharged engine. The noise it makes is distinctive and immediately activates a sense of anticipation as you prepare to put the gear lever into D.
But before you do that there is a switch alongside the gearbox which controls the driving modes. The one you want has a chequered flag on it and you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to work out what that means. Select it and a light comes on alongside a picture of double exhaust pipes which means the active sports exhaust system is ready to rumble.
Floor the accelerator and what happens next is an explosion of noise which becomes a rousing cacophony as the revs increase and this Jaguar unleashes its 495bhp with that awesome power delivered to the rear wheels by an extremely impressive 8-speed quickshift automatic gearbox. There are also paddle-shifts if you want more direct contact with all that excitement. With the roof down, and it folds very neatly away between the driver and the boot in just 12 seconds, all that hair-raising noise is exaggerated to thrilling levels.
This is truly an exceptional convertible and simply adds to the success story of the best Jaguar for decades.
Rating: 9/10
