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