Jag S type R!!
07 July 2002, 07:57 PM
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Have seen one of these at the British GP, i would not reccommend that anyone races one of these!! 
Its only real feature is a little red R on the right hand side of the boot, this monster is a 4.2 (supercharged? i think) 400BHP monster with 408lbs of torque
Could make you think twice about where to invest your money!
Tony
Its only real feature is a little red R on the right hand side of the boot, this monster is a 4.2 (supercharged? i think) 400BHP monster with 408lbs of torque
Could make you think twice about where to invest your money!
Tony
08 July 2002, 01:31 AM
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Yeah but sitting next to a BMW M5 (same money and target audience) and it's got one fatal flaw: automatic gearbox. Wouldn't touch one if I was in the market, gimme the proper-car BMW anyday.
08 July 2002, 01:36 AM
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Here is an artical on the jag
It's easy to get the wrong impression about some cars before you get to know them, as most Aztek owners will try to convince you. Study the vital stats, for example, of this brawny Jag S-type R—400 horsepower, 408 pound-feet of torque, giant brakes, 18-inch low-profile tires—and one might conclude that the Brits are looking to trump BMW's supersport, the M5. Laboring under this misconception, we anticipated writing the following cover blurb: We Test the Quickest Jaguar Ever!
The Verdict
Highs: Enormous torque; calm, cool, collected chassis.
Lows: Transmission short-shifts shy of the power peak, computer forbids drag racing.
The Verdict: A magnificent sedan that could do with a more boisterous powertrain-control computer.
It stood to reason, as the car enjoys a better power-to-weight ratio than that of the XJR or XKR and has an extra cog in its transmission. It ought to be quicker, right? In fact, given its advantage of 40 pound-feet over the equally heavy M5, the R should deliver M-grade acceleration. And at a price of just $63,072—10 grand less than an M5—the Jag looked like an easy comparo favorite. Then we flew to Spain's Costa Brava region and got to know the real S-type R—a gentle, sensitive, obsequious brute.
It seems Jaguar is convinced that its devotees don't want an M5. They don't intend to race their cars, so they won't put up with the flinty ride and heavy clutch and brakes that make an M5 difficult to drive smoothly in mellow, double-date driving situations. Jag folks, such as Sting and Eddie Irvine, are a genteel lot. They're more impressed by refinement and stealthy speed than by smoky burnouts and barroom bragging rights. And so, despite the R's impressive credentials, Jaguar has made some decisions that augur ill for spec-panel superlatives. Let's have a closer look at the credentials.
Under the hood is a thoroughly revamped edition of Jaguar's AJ V-8, stroked to 4.2 liters and enhanced with a new intake manifold, revised heads, and continuously variable (instead of two-position) intake-valve timing. These and numerous other refinements combine to improve emissions and boost power output by about seven percent, to 300 horsepower in the S-type 4.2 (many of the same improvements were also extended to the 3.0-liter V-6). For the R, an Eaton blower is bolted on, spinning five percent faster than the one in the XJR and XKR and exhaling 13.1 pounds of boost per inch through twin air-to-water intercoolers.
The only transmission offered on the R is ZF's stunning new six-speed automatic, fitted with exactly the same gearing as it gets in the BMW 745i. This is the state-of-the-slushbox art in terms of shift quality and gear spacing, and it's available on all S-types (sixes can now be had with a Getrag five-speed manual). Sadly, there's no manumatic control. Jag isn't selling to racy reprobates like us, remember?
So why can't this formidable powertrain go trolling M5s for pink slips? Part of the race is lost at launch. For packaging and cost reasons, the differential has no mechanical limited-slip device, so the brakes are used—rather a lot, as it happens—to prevent an individual wheel from spinning, even with the traction control switched off. A bit of launch-enhancing wheelspin is allowed when both tires have equal grip, but it's inevitably followed by an early upshift to prevent slippage in the next gear. Must maintain composure!
Tony
It's easy to get the wrong impression about some cars before you get to know them, as most Aztek owners will try to convince you. Study the vital stats, for example, of this brawny Jag S-type R—400 horsepower, 408 pound-feet of torque, giant brakes, 18-inch low-profile tires—and one might conclude that the Brits are looking to trump BMW's supersport, the M5. Laboring under this misconception, we anticipated writing the following cover blurb: We Test the Quickest Jaguar Ever!
The Verdict
Highs: Enormous torque; calm, cool, collected chassis.
Lows: Transmission short-shifts shy of the power peak, computer forbids drag racing.
The Verdict: A magnificent sedan that could do with a more boisterous powertrain-control computer.
It stood to reason, as the car enjoys a better power-to-weight ratio than that of the XJR or XKR and has an extra cog in its transmission. It ought to be quicker, right? In fact, given its advantage of 40 pound-feet over the equally heavy M5, the R should deliver M-grade acceleration. And at a price of just $63,072—10 grand less than an M5—the Jag looked like an easy comparo favorite. Then we flew to Spain's Costa Brava region and got to know the real S-type R—a gentle, sensitive, obsequious brute.
It seems Jaguar is convinced that its devotees don't want an M5. They don't intend to race their cars, so they won't put up with the flinty ride and heavy clutch and brakes that make an M5 difficult to drive smoothly in mellow, double-date driving situations. Jag folks, such as Sting and Eddie Irvine, are a genteel lot. They're more impressed by refinement and stealthy speed than by smoky burnouts and barroom bragging rights. And so, despite the R's impressive credentials, Jaguar has made some decisions that augur ill for spec-panel superlatives. Let's have a closer look at the credentials.
Under the hood is a thoroughly revamped edition of Jaguar's AJ V-8, stroked to 4.2 liters and enhanced with a new intake manifold, revised heads, and continuously variable (instead of two-position) intake-valve timing. These and numerous other refinements combine to improve emissions and boost power output by about seven percent, to 300 horsepower in the S-type 4.2 (many of the same improvements were also extended to the 3.0-liter V-6). For the R, an Eaton blower is bolted on, spinning five percent faster than the one in the XJR and XKR and exhaling 13.1 pounds of boost per inch through twin air-to-water intercoolers.
The only transmission offered on the R is ZF's stunning new six-speed automatic, fitted with exactly the same gearing as it gets in the BMW 745i. This is the state-of-the-slushbox art in terms of shift quality and gear spacing, and it's available on all S-types (sixes can now be had with a Getrag five-speed manual). Sadly, there's no manumatic control. Jag isn't selling to racy reprobates like us, remember?
So why can't this formidable powertrain go trolling M5s for pink slips? Part of the race is lost at launch. For packaging and cost reasons, the differential has no mechanical limited-slip device, so the brakes are used—rather a lot, as it happens—to prevent an individual wheel from spinning, even with the traction control switched off. A bit of launch-enhancing wheelspin is allowed when both tires have equal grip, but it's inevitably followed by an early upshift to prevent slippage in the next gear. Must maintain composure!
Tony
08 July 2002, 03:33 PM
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OK - not as manic as an M5, not as dark inside as an E55. A little neutered by the gizmos and lack of LSD, but they go like the showers and prodigiously eat miles fast & comfortably (I was not paying for the fuel either ).
Loved the hooligan SC soundtrack
).Loved the hooligan SC soundtrack
11 July 2002, 04:03 AM
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I'm not saying the Jag's a bad car, but a performance car should always have a manual gearbox IMO - after all don't you want to drive the thing rather than let a computer do it for you? In that case you might as well take the bus then you won't have to steer either!
Lack of even an option for manual rules it out IMO, even if it was half the price of the beemer. Too boring.
Lack of even an option for manual rules it out IMO, even if it was half the price of the beemer. Too boring.
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