I wanted to introduce myself and get some opinions. Hear me out and you'll understand why I'm asking.

I currently have a 2005 911 C2. Love the car and have been making great memories with it. Now I'm feeling the itch for a new and more powerful car that will continue to put a smile on my face. Sadly, there is pretty much no market here in Minnesota. I've seen one F Type that I can remember, and I typically go to all the car shows and meets. I thought I was going to be in the Porsche world for a long time. I dove head first into it and fell in love with the history of the company, the people who own them, and the potential factor of being an owner of Pcars. For personal reasons, I am moving on from the Pcar but will never forget it.

There is one Jag dealership in Minneapolis, and it's opening tomorrow. There is a high end luxury dealership in Minneapolis, and they typically get cars on consignment or sell new and expensive sports cars and luxury vehicles. Yet, I haven't found any Jags that I can test drive or even look at in person. Just that one fleeting moment last Spring when I barely looked at the SVR because I was distracted. I've been thinking about selling my 911 for only a couple of months, and my friends have been eagerly trying to spend my money and suggesting all kinds of cars. So here I am, kind of obsessed with the F Type R coupe and scouring the internet for photos, reviews, and cars for sale. I even have a budget and will buy the car without test driving one. That is how much I want one.

So my issue if it's even an issue is that there are no F Types to drive here. I am still researching the different trims and MY's and what not. I haven't even considered anything other than the SC V8 in the R coupe. I am not a fan of the verts of any kind. I've always been into coupes for my toys. As I've been reading and scouring the different sites and apps, I came to realize that there are other trims of the car that I might consider, but I'm really stuck on the F Type R coupe. Part of me has always been drawn to SC cars, and I also love the AWD factor in this car. I am falling in love with the concept of owning the F Type R coupe. Now all I'm doing is looking for a reasonable deal and the right color. Black is pretty much out of the picture.

I would love to read all of your thoughts and opinions and you can even throw in pictures of your rides to persuade me. I love car p0rn.

PFA of my current ride... on my way to the TOTD last year. God, that was fun.

 

If you are into the power of the V8, the 2015 R Coupe (only year of the V8 RWD coupe) will be the weapon of choice for fun driving. The 2015 is a couple hundred pounds lighter than the AWD. If an MT tickles your fancy, the 2016-19 V6 will be your only option. The S version will be required to get an LSD. The headlight treatment changes during that timeframe, so you’ll need to decide which MY you’ll want to focus on.

 

I purchased a 2017 R coupe after owning a Cayman S, Audi S5 and a BMW M4. All of those vehicles have amazing attributes and curb appeal but they don't come close in performance, exhaust note and most importantly the exclusivity of the Jaguar. There are supposedly only 5 F Type R's sold at Maine's only Jag dealership since it's introduction and I still have not seen one on the road regardless of version. Would recommend a 2016 or newer with AWD due to your winter wonderland environment! Good luck with your decision.

 

Great R review

First time in a Jag V8 S

First time in a 911

Good luck. Autotrader always has plenty of Fs for sale.

 

I've had several manual trans in my lifetime and love them. I can't believe I'm actually getting sucked into the automatic trans world again (haven't had one since HS).

Thank you for the videos! I'll be watching those all night.

I'm definitely leaning towards the AWD versus RWD. Last summer, my wife and I bought a Mazda CX-5 that has AWD. I'm sold on that now. I want my next car to have it. Why not, right? I have a feeling that I'm going to be smiling really big the whole time I'm driving the F Type, once I get one.

I'll check out Autotrader, too. Haven't thought of that.

 

AWD is a good idea if your wife (or should I say, someone else) will be driving it. Just saying.

Its an "automatic" but most people who've never driven a ZF8-speed F-Type think that means it shifts for you. It can shift for you, but it is a manual transmission in manual mode. It will actually downshift for you, but not to override your gear choice, only when it needs to prevent sub-idle RPM and possible lugging damage.

 

And in auto mode it kinda predicts what you'd do in a manual - holds the gear longer if you're flooring it, or upshifts at 2000 rpm if you're pottering. I think it actually reads your mind to know when to shift.

 

My wife was afraid to drive the 911. It's lowered, and she was scared to bottom out or if she parked it anywhere she was paranoid that someone would hit it.

Seeing how "big" this F Type is, I'm guessing she may be afraid to drive it.

 

The 911 is 2" longer and the F-Type is 4" wider.

That said, the F is the most difficult car to judge the opposite side and nose that I have driven. Its wide, and the driver sits where a back seat would normally be.

 

I’m 5’ 10”, and with my preferred low seat position, turning right into a parking space is simply a guess as to where the lines might be (no vision package.) Visibility is poor with the roof up, OK with it down. So your wife might not like parking it either.

 

Not if you're used to driving an XKR.
But you're right that it's wide, only took 4 days to kerb my first nearside wheel.

 

Yep and merging with traffic via on-ramp toward the passenger side needs 550 HP to clear your blind spot.

 

Definitely the R AWD for the reasons cited. My MIL is from Mnpls, and states "there are 9 months of winter and 3 months of poor sledding," so I understand your aversion to convertibles. At the same time THIS convertible is different from all I have owned, even the XKE and XK8, with the absence of cowl shake, the wind diverter, the floor heaters if needed, the ease of up/down and the sound, the glorious sound!

 

2015 R RWD all day. Biased though. If nothing else, the best looking year also. Forget the new versions that look like a sedan unfortunately.

 

Nothing wrong with loving the car you have. I have had RWD cars for as long as I can remember. I wanted something different this time.

Sat in a new F Type today. So nice! Sat in the R Coupe vert and the 400. Wow, the 400 was "small."

 

I think you will regret getting rid of your 911 if it also involves downgrading from MT to AT. To get "more powerful car" that is clearly so and maybe worth giving up stick you would need to step up into something like GT-R.

 

I won't regret it. It's just me moving into another phase. I love the 911 MT and will never forget it. Given time, I may really love the AT in the Jag. I want to give it a try. I've thought about the GT-R/R35 and that would be awesome. But I was in the Nissan community for so many years (1995 - 2017) and feel like I want to try something different.

Post pics of your CARS, people! I want to see your awesome F Types and know more about them. It may help me decide on one.

 

If you are keen on AWD I would go a 2017 R. It has the better infotainment than the 2016, but the vertical intake blades which changed to horizontal in the 2018. If you have the dough, the SVR is still AWD but apparently has a lighter front end which I would prefer (I have never driven one). Depending on your tastes they are not as classically pretty, so you are trading off a bit of looks for performance. That said, probably many people would love the looks of the SVR over the R and I'm not knocking that. I would also look for one with the pano roof.

I'm with Burt on colour, Italian Racing Red (now called Firenze) was my pick and really I wouldnt change it for anything else but obviously that is very much a matter of taste.

 

IRR in the sun

 

She's beautiful!!!

I was looking at the SVR first, then the R. I noticed that the R has the D-shaped steering wheel, which I like. The SVR does not. Maybe I'm wrong. Another thing that turned me off is that the price for the SVR doesn't justify the power increase and anything else I could tell that was different. Again, I haven't seen any in person and am still looking at photos and videos as well as reading reviews.

I'm looking at 2016 and 2017 models. I found a blue R Coupe with less that 2k miles on the odometer that I thought was reasonably priced. Otherwise, I was also looking at a white one that was a really good deal.