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Jaguar F-Type R Coupe Breaks South African Land Speed Record, Drifts to Celebrate

Thanks to the melange of bewildering styling cues and menacing muscle, people see the Jaguar F-Type Coupe in many ways, but, from now on, this feline lord shall wear yet another medal on its aluminum chest - the F-Type R Coupe has officially become the fastest production car in South Africa.
Jaguar F-Type R Coupe drifting 20 photos
Photo: Jaguar
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Late last month, the most powerful current incarnation of the F-Type Coupe was unleashed on the Upington Airport, in the Northern Cape. The 550 HP delivered by the supercharged 5-liter V8 allowed the coupe to set a new production car land speed record for South Africa.

In terms of numbers, the Jag managed to pass the 300 km/h (186 mph) barrier on the downhill section of the 1 km (1.61 miles) run. To be more precise, the F-Type Coupe R was clocked at 301.03 km/h (187.1 mph) while driving downhill, while the uphill side of the run saw it hit 288.33 km/h (179.1 mph). Overall, the big cat pulled a 294.68 km/h (183 mph) move, while the car's 300 km/h speed limiter was left in place.

The 543 hp (550 PS / 405 kW) F-Type was manhandled by Jaguar Land Rover SA National Aftersales Manager, Dawie Olivier, who was more than happy to crack the whip on the 4.9 km (3 miles) runway of the airport, one of the longest in the world.

Jaguar Land Rover have a thing for this sort of records

In case you are wondering about the smile on the driver's face, we're assuming part of it is because the record was stolen from Porsche. We do have to explain Zuffenhausen's feat wasn't exactly fresh, since they played the South African game back in 2002, when a 911 GT2 was clocked at 287.63 km/h (178.7 mph).

Regardless, Jaguar Land Rover seems to have a thing for setting such records. For one thing, the story reminds us of how the Land Rover Sport Supercharged became the fastest production vehicle to complete the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb back in 2013. And we bet the Brits are keeping the SVR version as a backup in case anybody tries to dance their Cayenne up to the clouds.

Returning to the F-Type R Coupe, the team also included some rather serious tire-melting drama in their effort and we're inviting you to indulge in this while browsing the gallery below.

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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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