2015 Jaguar F-Type Coupe R vs. 2014 Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition - Head 2 Head Ep. 55 - video Dailymotion

MotorTrend

On this episode of Head 2 Head

Transcript

00:00 Are you ready to get silly?

00:02 Because I'm ready to get silly.

00:04 It doesn't get sillier than that.

00:12 This is the manliest thing I've ever done in my life.

00:26 I'm ready to get silly.

00:28 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:31 Drivers' cars don't get much better than these two.

00:43 The Jaguar F-Type Coupe R and Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition

00:48 are about as fantastic as their names are long.

00:51 Both have carbon ceramic brakes, active dampers, active differentials,

00:55 and both are rear drive.

00:57 Both are also intent on making the driving experience enjoyable and rewarding.

01:02 Which one does it best?

01:04 The two cars are similar in length and height,

01:06 though the Jag is nearly three inches wider.

01:09 With 550 horsepower from its supercharged 5-liter V8,

01:12 the Coupe R is the most powerful production Jag ever.

01:16 But that almost doesn't matter, because just look at it.

01:19 The Coupe is one of those cars that could pass on design alone.

01:22 You catch yourself just staring at it.

01:24 It features a masterful collection of design traits--

01:27 a long nose, the sloped greenhouse, those wide haunches,

01:30 and how the quad exhaust pipes exit at the bumper tilted just slightly up.

01:34 The proportions are simply gorgeous.

01:36 It's a design that evokes images of all great classical sports cars.

01:40 You could confuse it with something Italian, and in the best way possible.

01:44 The F-Type is simply a knockout in terms of design.

01:47 It's a stunningly beautiful car.

01:50 Fortunately, the aesthetic benefits of having a roof

01:52 match the improvements it brings to the chassis--

01:55 namely, a dramatic increase in torsional rigidity.

01:58 Though it starts at around $100,000, this one totals $117,475,

02:03 mostly due to the inclusion of enormous 15.7-inch front

02:07 and 14.8-inch rear carbon ceramic brakes

02:10 and the 20-inch wheels required to fit--

02:13 a package that costs $12,000.

02:15 A standard 911 Carrera S also starts at around $100,000,

02:21 but this 50th anniversary edition increases the base price another $20,000.

02:26 It's essentially a Carrera S with a 4S body,

02:29 making it 1.7 inches wider in the rear.

02:32 It also adds the modernized Fuchs wheels, houndstooth seats,

02:35 and a power kit, which includes new heads, cams, intake system, radiator,

02:40 exhaust, engine mounts, ECU, and a power increase to 430 horse.

02:45 Total price, $151,620.

02:48 You might say it's just another 911,

02:50 but in person, in the parking lot, it looks absolutely fantastic.

02:54 It doesn't evoke the same slack-jawed stares as the F-Type,

02:57 but it does catch and hold your eyes for a long time.

03:15 Launching these cars is easy, and they were remarkably consistent in our testing.

03:20 In the Jag, you activate Dynamic Mode and put the traction control in Sport,

03:24 then lay into the throttle gradually, but not aggressively.

03:27 Without much tire spin,

03:29 the Jag reaches 60 in 3.6 seconds and the quarter-mile in 11.8 at 122.3 miles an hour.

03:37 That isn't the quickest we've seen from an F-Type,

03:39 but it's enough to beat Porsche in a drag race.

03:42 In the 911, you hit the Sport Plus button and slam both pedals.

03:46 Release the brake, and it does 60 in 3.9 seconds

03:49 and the quarter-mile in 12.2 at 115.4 miles an hour.

03:54 While they pass the quarter about a half a second apart,

03:57 there's nearly a 7-mile-an-hour difference in trap speed.

04:00 The Jag's got the power, but it also weighs 560 pounds more,

04:04 bringing its power-to-weight advantage down to 0.7 pounds per horsepower.

04:10 Both cars have Pirelli P-Zeros and ceramic brakes,

04:13 but the Porsche narrowly edges out the Jag's best braking performance by 5 feet,

04:18 producing a best stop from 60 miles an hour in 101 feet.

04:21 Around the figure 8, the 911 and the Jag put down lap times within a tenth of each other.

04:34 Well, despite the power deficiency, the Porsche pulls 1G average on the skid pad.

04:38 The Jag, just 0.94.

04:41 Whatever the 911 loses on the straight as the Jaguar accelerates ahead,

04:45 it makes up for in the corners.

04:47 The Coupe R turns in nicely, but defaults to understeer as you ask for more from the chassis.

04:52 The instant you step on throttle, it transitions to oversteer.

04:55 It feels like the car's set up to power slide,

04:58 and that's fun when you're horsing around,

05:00 but it requires extra concentration on the throttle during corner exit

05:04 when you're trying to get a lap time.

05:06 The Porsche dials into corners beautifully and offers an astounding traction on exit.

05:11 Where the Jag needs mindful throttle application,

05:14 the Porsche can be driven with a foot to the floor.

05:17 (engine revving)

05:45 This thing's so muscular and brawny and such a brawler of a car.

05:52 It's like a British Corvette.

05:54 This is just clobbering a road.

05:59 Like, you're just obliterating things in your path,

06:02 and all the world is going to know that you're doing that because of how loud this thing is.

06:11 When I started driving this car on the road,

06:13 the first thing I wanted to do when I got out was to tear my shirt open and flex my chest

06:17 and admire all the new chest hair that had just been grown.

06:21 We, of course, have an automatic eight-speed transmission,

06:27 and on the road, the way I've been driving today,

06:30 I haven't really noticed any downsides between this and Porsche's PDK.

06:34 When you're shifting manually, it's responsive, it's fast, it matches revs.

06:40 It's a really nicely done transmission.

06:42 Where I think the difference in driving philosophy is the rear end.

06:46 This thing seems to be set up in a way to make you think it's going to oversteer all the time.

06:52 And as we found out at the test track, that's exactly what it wants to do when you're on power.

06:57 But it does so in a very controllable way.

06:59 So it's not frightening, you're just aware of it more than you are in an 11.

07:05 I wish this car was lighter, and I wish it was a bit smaller.

07:10 And those, I think, would pay dividends in the way this thing handles.

07:14 This car doesn't lie about its weight, you're aware.

07:20 It doesn't shrink around you.

07:22 It pretty much stays feeling big and heavy when you drive it fast.

07:26 It feels a bit tighter in here because the dash is a lot taller,

07:30 the windshield's raked, and it's a bit narrower.

07:33 And you feel like it's all because there's this giant 5-liter supercharged V8 sitting right here.

07:40 The first thing you notice when you hop in the 911, this interior feels more open, like you can see more things.

08:00 And that's because you don't have a big 5-liter V8 with a supercharger on top of it blocking your view.

08:05 What you have is a big open windshield and a hood that just sort of swoops down.

08:09 All you can really see are where the headlights are at, the body around there.

08:14 And that is one of the reasons why driving this car is so sweet.

08:20 Now the two, this and the Jaguar, are very similar in size.

08:29 The Jaguar is a bit lighter than the Jaguar, but this manages to feel smaller and lighter the faster you drive it.

08:36 This car operates as one solid piece of machine.

08:42 It's not a bunch of parts working independently of one another that you have to mine individually.

08:49 It refuses none of your requests.

08:52 It sort of engages you and makes you want to go faster and harder.

08:57 You think in some corners I might have to lift off here.

08:59 No, you can just go flat and steer through it.

09:02 And the car has the grip and the balance to get you through without issue.

09:07 This is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful driving car.

09:11 You also notice that the exhaust is a lot quieter.

09:25 It doesn't have the ferociousness of that Jaguar's exhaust.

09:29 It has a bit more soul than the Jaguar.

09:34 The Jag's all heavy metal, and that's cool.

09:37 They're both good in different ways, but you can almost read into the personality of each car through the way their exhausts sound.

09:44 These cars are nothing short of exceptional.

09:54 Both are thrilling and engaging.

09:56 They make you laugh.

09:57 They make you happy.

09:58 Driving either one will make your day.

10:00 Driving both hard on the same day is the kind of stuff we live for.

10:04 The Jaguar looks so gorgeous, and it has this hugely enjoyable character.

10:08 What it lacks in absolute limit performance, it makes up for with sheer theatrics.

10:13 It makes you smile endlessly.

10:15 The Porsche, too, looks fantastic, and it, too, is fun to drive even when you're just getting groceries.

10:22 But the 911 has a higher upper limit that makes it so rewarding to push hard.

10:27 It keeps asking you for more, and it keeps meeting and then exceeding your expectations.

10:32 And for that reason, the 911 50th Anniversary Edition wins this head-to-head.

10:37 [engine revving]

10:40 [engine revving]

10:42 [engine revving]

10:44 [engine revving]

10:49 [engine revving]

10:55 [engine revving]

10:57 (film projector whirring)

2015 Jaguar F-Type Coupe R vs. 2014 Porsche 911 50th Anniversary Edition - Head 2 Head Ep. 55

Category

Transcript

Recommended