Geneva show: Jaguar F-Type gets SVR treatment

JAGUAR will give Australian fans that missed out on the ultra-exclusive F-Type Project 7 a second chance to experience the ultimate in F-Type performance, with the first series production Jaguar to emerge from its SVR skunkworks coming Down Under in the third quarter of 2016.

Available as either Convertible or Coupe, the F-Type SVR will introduce a “lighter, faster and more powerful” variant of the two-seater Jag, positioned above the current F-Type R flagship, with a dizzying maximum speed of 322km/h.

Little information and only a handful of images have been released ahead of the SVR's official public debut at the Geneva motor show in early March, but Jaguar Land Rover special operations manager John Edwards has hinted at its potency.

“The result is a 200mph, all-weather supercar that you can drive every day – we even made a Convertible version so that enthusiasts can revel in the sound from the new titanium exhaust system,” he said.

With that capability, the SVR smashes the F-Type R's top end by 22km/h, suggesting it has significantly more poke than the 'standard' 404kW 5.0-litre supercharged V8, and could even trump the Project 7 power, which also tops out at 300km/h.

Just 10 of the 250 strictly limited Project 7s came to Australia, but Jaguar Land Rover Australia senior public affairs executive James Scrimshaw told GoAuto that the new F-Type range-topper would not be built in such limited numbers.

“From day one with Project 7, they were only going to make so many cars, but this will be an ongoing model like Range Rover Sport SVR,” he said.

Mr Scrimshaw explained that exact local timing, pricing and specification were still being finalised, and that availability here would be dictated by global demand.

“Every single market, no matter what car company around the world works on a market equation based on what each market delivers,” he said. “The same will be for us.

“It all depends on supply and demand around the world so that question is too early to answer. Until it goes round the motor shows and people put in their global requests, that's when they can work out how many they can make.

“It's all coming out of our Special Vehicle Operations, and they don't produce cars as fast as the normal factory because they are very bespoke so that will take longer and slow things down a little bit.”

But with increasing demand for both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in Australia, Mr Scrimshaw said JLR is gaining bartering power for global supply.

“With Land Rover we are one of the top 10 markets in the world, so we do have a lot more sway than we ever did,” he said. “The combined JLR business is around 13,000 units a year but we were around 4000 to 5000 five years ago, so the growth is huge.

“It's Jaguar's time now with its model range to pick up, and as we move on through the years we will be a larger and larger share.”

Despite the SVR's supercar performance, Jaguar says it “retains its day-to-day usability” with the same “comfort and duality of character inherent to all jaguar cars,” according to the company.

The British car-maker originally had planned to reveal the F-Type SVR in a surprise Geneva show unveiling, but had decided to issue a handful of official images and statement, following leaked images and information from brochures printed in preparation for the launch.