The 280kW supercharged 3.0-litre V6, albeit carryover, is the finest howler this side of Maserati’s Ferrari-built six. And it’s this S AWD Coupe version that we sampled across the twisty and challenging closed road circuit first.
Jaguar claims a brisk 5.1 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint on its way to a 275km/h top speed for the S AWD, two-tenths slower than the rear-driver. So a fair penalty in acceleration given the all-paw S wants for a $15,700 premium.
In Dynamic mode, the throttle feels urgent, the acceleration strident and the upchanges from the eight-speed are crisp and urgent. In isolation, the S AWD feels satisfyingly quick as it lunges between corners with gusto. It’s in the corners, however, where its newfound all-wheel traction shines brightest.
Its 460Nm is hardly earth-moving, but how it interacts with the all-wheel drive exiting corners is, at once, both sublime and extremely effective. It feeds torque forward to the front 245/40 19-inch Pirelli P Zeros from its natural 100-precent rear-bias state seamlessly, and while you can feel it doing its magic, the effect is utterly natural.
Part of that magic is the chassis’ flat stance and the incredible grip the rear 275/35 Pirellis can generate, because it takes full throttle to get the F-Type’s tail to dance, at which point the Intelligent Driveline Dynamics, that controls the all-paw system, intervenes with utmost transparency. It feels characteristically the rear-driver, with all the corner exit ferocity of four-wheeled traction. Brilliant.
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