The Jaguar F-Type SVR starts out life as the company's range-topping sports coupe (the V8 R) complete with all-wheel drive and a supercharged 5-litre V8 putting out 542bhp. But then it's handed over to the company's recently established Special Vehicles Operations (SVO) division to work its magic.
SVO was set up by Jaguar Land Rover to cater for increasingly discerning customers and its first effort, the Range Rover Sport SVR became the fastest SUV to ever lap the Nurburgring. For its next trick, it created the Range Rover SVAutobiography the most exclusive and luxurious Range Rover in the marque's history. And now it's turned its attention to Jaguar.
The F-Type SVR is lighter and stiffer than any current F-Type. It also has carbon ceramic brakes as standard. But they're a necessity as Jaguar's engineers have managed to squeeze a further 25bhp from the car's motor. So power's up to 567bhp and when that's combined with weight-saving measures and a host of external aerodynamic tweaks, the result is a 0-100kph time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 322kph.
That's 14mph more than the current top model and means that this is the first Jaguar since that fabled folly the XK220 hypercar, launched in 1992, that can claim membership to the 200mph club.
As well as a coupé, a soft-top version of the F-Type SVR will also be making its debut at this year's show which opens its doors to the world's motoring press on March 1. Though just as aggressive in terms of styling, it is slightly slower than its hardtop counterpart. Its top speed is quoted as 315kph.
Jaguar had hoped to spring both of its big cats on the public as a surprise. Unfortunately, a sales brochure detailing the new cars leaked over the weekend. And while the company initially refused to comment, on Monday it confirmed that both cars are real and that they will be the headline attractions on its Geneva stand.
As for price, the car can now compete with Porsche Turbos and Aston Martins in terms of performance as well as styling, so expect the coupé to cost around US$150,000 when it goes on sale later this year.
