Folk wisdom dictates that any Aston Martin sportscar is way cooler than just about every Jaguar one. However, that seems to have changed with the arrival of the F-Type, a brand new two-seater that's winning hearts and minds across the world.
The ultimate mass-production version of the F-Type is the R Coupe, packing a 550 hp supercharged engine, a performance braking system, quad exhaust and sensual looks that belong in the centerfold of Playboy magazine. It's also what we'd call "reasonably brisk", reaching 100 km/h in only 4.2 seconds and topping out at 300 km/h (186 mph).
Turns out Jaguar's best closely matches the ultimate version of the Aston Martin vantage, also a small and beautiful coupe. Where the engine in the Jag is a supercharged V8, the one in the Aston is a naturally aspirated V12 producing its maximum output of 573 hp at 6,750rpm. 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) takes 3.7 seconds while the top speed is 327 km/h (203 mph).
A difference of 0.5 seconds can seem large on paper, but as you're about to see, the two sexy Brits are much closer in real life than they are on paper. This next video was recently released by France's Motorsport Magazine and shows the two taking a leasurly and non-competitive stroll to 250 km/h (155 mph).
With cars like these, you really can't take beauty out of the equation. The Aston was perfect when launched but due to all the tuning of the V12 S update, it looks somewhat like a Mitsubishi Evo. The F-Type, on the other hand, has no excessive air vents or bulging spoiler and that's why we'd pick it as our favorite, especially since it's also much cheaper.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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