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Jaguar F-Type 400 Sport Convertible: An Unexpected Journey
SUPERCARS & ROAD TRIPS
JAGUAR F-TYPE 400 SPORT CONVERTIBLE
AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
Words: Alessandro Marrone
Photography: S. Lomax
Karma exists, I no longer have any doubts about this. I have never given importance to the capacity of the trunk, at least when it comes to sports cars – it is fine that there is little space and after all everything that matters is already placed in the engine compartment. But finding myself the very morning of the departure pointing astonished the back of the F-Type Convertible together with the photographer was one of the most grotesque moments of my entire life. Imagine the scene, two clowns like us with 3 backpacks, a tripod and some other various things of which I do not even remember the functionality. The grimace on our face once opened the back lid said it all and to be honest and with the spare wheel jammed in there I had trouble even putting a single jacket. Assaulted by the fear of having to undo everything, I started by unscrewing and leaving the wheel and its kit in the garage – for sure we will have a puncture – but the music does not change. I do not want to go further, but be aware that if you plan a weekend away you’ll have to travel light, if you’re going to spend a week, buy the clothes once at your destination and then … throw them away. We can arrange a pair of backpacks in the thin slot that the F-Type Convertible calls trunk – the width of the coupe version is a distant memory, but it does not matter. Stuck between an extra reflex of over two thousand Euros and other photographic equipment we put some jackets and all we have to leave scattered here and there in order to earn the necessary centimeters for being able to close the hood. I wonder if we would remember the order with which we loaded everything, a detail that at least for the moment does not go through our minds, because it is finally time to jump on board and go.
The interior is instead a perfect environment in which to find shelter from the pungent air of an autumn morning that seemed to mark the end of our journey even before it began. The seats of the F-Type 400 Sport are in black leather with white stitching that stand out magnificently in the total black of the dashboard, a chromatic pattern interrupted only by the yellow 400 Sport logos, useful to remember that we are on a special model for Jaguar and for those lucky ones that will get their hands on one of these. It is in fact known that it will be produced for one year only and that it will be available both as a Coupe and a Convertible. I think it could be a good added model in the list of the F-Type, but after pressing the power button and giving life to the 3-liter supercharged V6, all that passes through my head is to make sure to let this cat scratch the asphalt as it can do. The F-Type range is getting richer, you know it better than me: we have the new 300hp 2-liter version and the 340 and 380-horsepower V6s. Over the 400 Sport we enter into V8 territory, with the R and its 550hp and the SVR boasting 575hp, but these two not only offer a completely different driving dynamics, but also running costs more similar to those of a supercar than those of a grand tourer. Not to spoil any surprise, but the 400 Sport is the ideal step for those who want enough power to improve the fun rate of their weekend, but also the convenience of a comfortable 2-seater that will not try to kill you at the first corner. And then the spec here checks the boxes that you would have done if they’ve asked you to configure your personal F-Type, thanks to a more pronounced aerodynamic kit, dedicated 18 inches alloy wheels at front and 19 at the back, sports exhaust and those 400 horses that if squeezed in the right way, will know how to entertain and put you to the test.
THE UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.
After selecting Dynamic mode, I open the exhaust valves and challenge a probable bronchitis by opening the roof. The canvas top is soundproofed and repairs perfectly once closed, but when it opens electrically it goes to fold over the luggage, reminding us exactly how much space has stolen to us at the time of loading the car. You really forgive it after just a hundred meters, when you realize that at every acceleration, the absence of a physical filter between the central double tailpipes and your eardrums is completely removed and you can hear in the clearest possible way every single variation in the voice of the V6 in front of you. Precisely for this it will become impossible to respect a mature pace and will be a continuous “push and release” in search of the infamous burbles, less exasperated than those to which we have accustomed with the R, but still damn fun. The seating position is perfect and you immediately feel the dimensions of the F-Type, thanks also to the long bonnet that continues to open in the opposite direction to the passenger compartment. I deal with the ZF 8-speed automatic transmission, the only option available on this special series, using the paddles mounted behind the steering wheel – not too big, but accessible in any position and with excellent sensorial feedback. The 400 Sport is also equipped with a limited slip differential, which will not only help when we dare to exclude traction control. It is almost two meters wide, about 4 and a half long and carries 1.8 tons of weight. That’s why you have to get in tune with the V6, before you can get a clearer idea of how this F-Type differs from the other models in the list. 400 horses are the perfect number, enough to put sweat in your hands and do not lose concentration, not so much to be cut electronically by some wizardry that prevents us from ending face first against a tree. However, having to cope with an important weight, you need to know how to play with the gears, allowing the Jag to revs high and respond better, relying on the excellent and powerful braking system and that desire to enter corners feeling on the wire of a razor. The set-up in Dynamic mode is precise and rigid enough, but you will learn how to take advantage of all 7000 revs, ending up consuming at least twice the petrol you expected before leaving home.
If I had to choose a single adjective to describe this 400 Sport, I think that special would be the right word, because it combines elegance and sportiness like few other cars are able to do, still it can pamper you with comfort and refinement of a modern and clean environment, but exceptionally intuitive, and then is able to extract the claws with the same ease with which it gains speed in wide stretches of road. The dry leaves cover the road and make it more slippery than it actually was, due to a heavy storm unleashed the day before. You have to keep the steering wheel tightly in your hands and measure the throttle decisively and with due caution. The roof remains inexorably open and the cold air has now become icy. Air conditioning on and the cockpit is warm enough to keep our journey to the mountain pass overlooking our heads. Then we slip into tunnels of yellow and orange-tinged trees and come out in a vortex of leaves, that’s how everything takes an even more theatrical tone and the mumbling of the engine is the only music we want to hear. I do not lose even one minute of these wonderful moments immersed in the driving of an old school sports car, one of those cars that do not ask anything but to be driven, it will make every road, every moment, every day spent with that fat steering wheel in hands special.
OPEN TOP AT THE TOP.
The hours of daylight are less day after day, but the absence of traffic and of any form of life is the perfect outline for our last kilometers before reaching the goal – at least the one that we set ourselves as the very first checkpoint. The clouds and the sky are tinged in violet, a strange red tending to pink, a show that I had not yet witnessed and that forces me to pull over letting Lomax the chance to check if one of the two cameras still works after several hours of curves and hairpin turns exciting this mountain feline. I must admit that in front of certain spectacles created by nature, letting the 400 horses of the F-Type take a breath is not so bad and in the meantime I take this opportunity to observe that reminiscent profile of the legendary E-Type (that remained in the garage!), the many details that embellish this edition that is confirmed as the best possible choice, provided you do not need the extra horses of the two 8 cylinders. It is also one of the few cars that remain graceful both with the canvas top closed or open and that will take you to contemplate it from the most varied angles, constantly looking for a nuance that was missing, especially if like us you have spent most of the time burning liters and liters of petrol. Speaking about fuel, Jaguar declares a consumption in the mixed cycle of 8.9 l/100km, but put into account to fund your savings, because you will never ever drive with your brain or with savings as the main objective. Finally the sun has almost completely hidden behind the horizon, now we have a good excuse to close the roof above us and to resume driving towards the real final destination of this first day.
Every morning, almost as if to give it a good morning, whether it was from the hotel room or the window of my house, I found myself watching it and I was already thinking about the sad day when I had to return it to Jaguar. The unexpected journey was not the one that gave the crazy photographs taken by our photographer, as the path that this last generation Jaguar has completed in my preferences. A rapid leap like that of a big and powerful cat was enough and immediately became a sort of relationship – that’s why I also started talking with it – also with the people of the various mountain villages or the busy streets of the cities we’ve crossed. You do not simply look at an F-Type, you really admire it. It is as if it were equipped with a magnet that acts directly on the pupils of people and through the eyes reaches the brain and then the heart of everyone. After purring you, she … well it shows you how much it can entertain you, but always reminding you that it can bite at any moment. This is precisely what makes the F-Type a different sports car compared to the surgical machines crunching fast laps here and there. It has flaws because it’s not just a car, it’s a creature. A beautiful creature that will not age when there will be faster gearboxes, more powerful engines or better 0-100, because the way you drive it will be directly proportional to the way you will enter into intimacy with its handling and its ability to be the car that you were looking for. A special series, not by chance.
JAGUAR F-TYPE AWD 400 SPORT CONVERTIBLE (2018)
Layout – front-engined, all-wheel-drive
Engine – V6 cylinder 2.995cc – supercharged
Transmission – 8-speed automatic gearbox
Power – 400 hp @ 6.500 rpm
460 Nm @ 3.500 rpm
Weight – 1.769 kg
Acceleration – 5,1 sec.
Top Speed – 275 kph
Price – from € 116.180
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