2017 Jaguar F-Type SVR

When you hear the term “muscle car”, images of Shelby Mustangs, Dodge Hellcats and the like immediately come to mind. Or maybe you’re more into vintage hardware like 60’s-era Pontiac GTOs or most any Chevy Super Sport. Regardless, your mind’s picture is likely of something from a Detroit based automaker. However, American brands hardly have a lock on high output as numerous Mercedes AMG and BMW M cars have long proven.

Recently, that need for ultimate speed spread to the once relatively understated folks at Jaguar. Their high performance models have been standouts not only because they are powerful and fast, but because they don’t sacrifice the luxurious essence of the brand in the process. The latest, and in our minds best example of that chemistry, is the 2017 Jaguar F Type SVR.

Clearly, there’s a lot more here than just the typical sport package upgrade. Yes, more power, but also less weight. There are also aero add-ons to increase downforce, and naturally a revised suspension to take advantage of all of the above. You can easily feel the extra grip and power provided by the SVR upgrades. It also sounds beastly, with some of the best exhaust pipe audio to emerge in recent years. So, it’s both very fast and loads of fun, as long as you are in firm control. Thankfully, the super light and predictable steering, along with torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive, usually gives the driver the upper hand.

The core of the SVR is the F-type’s supercharged 5.0-liter V8. It’s hardly new. But, powertrain software has been recalibrated for a 25–horsepower boost to 575, all put to pavement through a sharp shifting 8-speed automatic.

The SVR’s exterior does indeed look more aggressive than before, though it remains very elegant, a gentlemen racer if you will. Those added aero treatments include a tweaked front fascia, diverters in the wheel arches to channel additional air out of the fender vents, and a big active rear wing.  

Many of those performance extras are carbon-fiber. That helps the SVR stand out from common F-type fare. You’ll see it on the roof, front chin spoiler, hood, side vents, and rear diffuser.  

Still, as great as this SVR feels on a road course, it still proves to be even more fun in “relaxed and profile” mode on city byways.  There is no harsh suspension here so you can enjoy every minute behind the wheel. Jaguar has also left plenty of luxury touches inside for you and your companion as well.

For our complete track test of the 2017 Jaguar F Type SVR, be sure to catch MotorWeek episode #3627 that begins airing on March 10, 2017. For a listing of the public television stations that broadcast MotorWeek, go to motorweek.org and click the “About The Show” tab at the top. MotorWeek is also seen Tuesday evenings on the Velocity cable network.

The Jaguar F-Type has been a true work in progress ever since it arrived for 2013, and not in a bad way.  Rather, in a way that keeps us enjoying every one we drive. That is especially true with the 2017 Jaguar F-Type SVR, the best non-American-born muscle car we’ve ever driven.