In the four years since the F-Type was introduced, Jaguar has pumped its sports car full of power and sophistication. What was once a quick car with a tenacious exhaust note is now an outright supercar in its least fettered form.
Alas, simply dowsing a car with horsepower is not a holistic performance strategy. Thus top-spec F-Type models have adopted an all-wheel drive system and other grip-enabling technologies to extract the most from a titanic powertrain. These enhancements permit drivers of reasonable skill to put down blistering lap times and breeze through twisty sections of roadway.
But what about those who prefer a less empirical version of performance? Gaining tenths of a second on a track is great, but precision often comes at the cost of mischievous fun. Thankfully, Jaguar will still sell you an F-Type with all the purity of a classic sports car.
Here’s what we learned after spending a week with the 2017 F-Type S convertible.