Every seriously fast Jaguar since 2008 – ranked!

There are no real losers in this pecking order, as you’re about to see. All are powered by subtly different flavours of the same engine, and when new all registered somewhere on the ‘brilliant’ scale. That is Jaguar’s way. Or it was for all the years preceding this one. It introduced its first ‘R’ model in the late eighties, but for the sake of brevity we’ve limited ourselves to what could euphemistically be called its modern era – i.e. from 2008, when Tata took control. Of course, the XK was a legacy car, and it props up this list mostly by dint of it being the oldest (and suspicion of its age was already prevalent when Jaguar launched the S version of the facelifted XKR in 2011). But very few people questioned the charm of the supercharged 5.0-litre V8, which, coincidentally, is another handy starting point for our story, the AJ unit having launched in 2009. It developed 550hp in the S and already went like the clappers. A limited-edition GT derivative followed, but they are silly money. A well-kept XKR-S will cost you around £40k. Bargain. 

As ever, people are welcome to debate the merits of the old XK versus the F-Type that (eventually) came to replace it as the sports car in Jaguar’s lineup, but let’s not forget the buzz surrounding the latter, which seemed to have been gestating for what seemed like an epoch. The earlier version ranks lower simply because it got better over its lifespan, though it’s worth mentioning that at the time its maker claimed the SVR version was nothing less than a 200mph supercar chaser, thanks to a 575hp version of the V8 that made it the most powerful series production Jaguar ever at the time. (Even an XJ220, remember, mustered just the 550hp.) It wasn’t just straight line shove that marked out the flagship, either, with damper changes, anti-roll bar tweaks and sturdier suspension hardware to make the most of the potential on road or track. Cheaper and more charismatic than a 911 Turbo, we called it back in 2016, though rear-drive made it a handful at the limit. You can have one today for half the original price, too. 

This position is not a reflection of the XFR as a whole (as we’ll come to in a moment). Nor is it a reflection of the entertainment value on offer in the facelifted flagship: with another 40hp over stock, stiffer springs, F-Type influenced steering and a gearbox recalibration, it was undoubtedly a hoot. As well as rowdy to look at in a way the R never was, with some proper wind tunnel verification to back up the appearance of the bodykit. It is, and will likely remain, the most collectable XFR – and if you prefer your car to be the coveted version, then by all means consider eighth place poppycock. But we’re minded to think the S was more of the same at precisely the moment when the flagship XF needed to up its game. In the years between the XFR and the facelifted S, an entirely new generation of M5 had arrived and a totally fresh V8 had appeared in the E63. Thus Jaguar’s advantage had gone, never to be retrieved. A great car regardless, sure – but a baby step when another great leap was required.  

Typically fast Jags are known for their subtlety and discretion, less overt than some rivals while no less powerful. That all changed with Project 7, now a dozen years old but still with an impact like no other. Jaguar understandably wanted to shout about the arrival of its new two-seat sports car, and nothing quite guarantees attention like a retro-themed limited edition with a thunderous V8. The main attraction of the special edition was the raked roadster aesthetic and epic soundtrack, but there was some proper engineering involved as well, which ultimately made the P7 faster than an F-Type R Coupe around the Nurburgring. Not just a Jaguar for posing then, but undoubtedly there was nothing better if that was the task at hand. When they pop up for sale these days, the asking price is never far from what was originally asked – a minor miracle by modern supercharged Jag standards, and perhaps the greatest achievement of the Project 7. 

Jaguar most certainly saved the best until last when it came to the XJR. Even though the X351 was never a smash hit super-saloon in terms of sales or legacy, its sheer quality and charisma ensured it a solid mid-table finish here among ostensibly more glamorous alternatives. Previous XJRs had been fabulous things to drive, of course, whether with six or eight cylinders. That was never the problem; the problem was that they never really looked the part, always a bit too traditional to reflect the modern engineering achievements underneath. The dramatic X351 changed all that in 2013, combining contemporary style and ambience with old-school Jaguar V8 potency. The fabulous 575 was a fitting farewell, though the regular 550hp version was more than up to the job of making you feel like an absolute hero. An early one won’t be much more than £20k, either…

Obviously not a Jaguar, but we felt compelled to include the previous Range Rover Sport for two reasons: a) it was Special Vehicle Operations’ one undisputed commercial mega-hit, a best-seller, and b) there is no commensurate list of fast Land Rovers it could be included in (although it is the only car here with a successor). Also, and there really is no disputing this, it was a rolling fun factory to drive. No other model produced by JLR, save perhaps the current Defender, has so squarely hit the nail on the head when it came to giving the customer precisely what they wanted – even if that included a questionable image (or, indeed, because of it). The SVR drove with pomp and pliancy, sounded like a low-flying Spitfire, would effortlessly crest a muddy knoll and made the Porsche Cayenne seem po-faced. Here was a cad in wellies holding a firework, more Jaguar in spirit than Land Rover. Popularity and a high asking price made for fairly savage depreciation, meaning you can have one now from £30k. Consider it a present to your inner child. 

Is the later, slitty-eyed F-Type better looking than the original version? Who can say – that debate will rage on for as long as there are secondhand examples to rage about – but we can say that the facelifted model was better to drive. Perhaps not in the sense of it being a huge stride forward, but sufficient for it to seem very comfortable in its own skin. We could continue arguing about which of the later versions was actually best, too – not least because the mid-tier P450 was a very lovely thing – but the R versions, with up to 575hp, were undeniably fruitier and still boasted the engine that differentiated the F-Type from virtually all other sports cars at the time, not least the Porsche 911. Additionally, standard four-wheel drive made it easier to manage, and while some of the familiar caveats remained, the feel-good factor, always an F-Type attribute, was now undeniable. Which is definitely something to think about when you can have a nearly new one for less than £70k. 

If you’d rather poke out your eyes than favour a chintz’d up SUV over a svelte Jaguar sports car, then we get that. But with our objective hat on, the F-Pace SVR was a far more competitive car in its class than the top spec F-Type ever managed to be – it was also the model that Jaguar absolutely needed to build at the time, even if it came too late and not quite big-selling enough to steer the ship away from a wholesale bet on battery power. The facelifted version, available from 2021, was the full ticket: hugely fast, charismatic, conventionally good-looking and (for the first time) impressively plush inside. In other words, it felt exactly like what a decidedly modern take on a Jaguar-branded fast car should be – even if its presence in the broader lineup helped nix the idea that it was worth doing a saloon-based SVR. Either way, you can have a very nice one for less than £50k – not bad for a car that was arguably the last combustion Jaguar that gave its rivals something to think about. 

Some might sneer at Project 8 being so far up the mountain – not least because Jaguar did not have the easiest time selling it, nor found a way to make it right-hand-drive – but it is unequivocally deserving of every accolade as a thing to drive. Because it was a monster – the sort of self-consciously developed, spare no expense, take no prisoners effort that volume manufacturers rarely sign off. In that regard, it is also SVO’s shining technical achievement, and suggested that the division might be capable of rivalling any skunkworks department, were it given its own head. Sadly, that wasn’t to be: there was no Project 9 and with a much-publicised electric future nearly upon us, Jaguar has effectively re-merged what was left of the team back into the main engineering effort. Still, the Project 8 remains a bonafide 600hp mega-saloon and on the basis of its comparative and never-to-be-repeated rarity, is worth every penny of the £100k-odd you would need to spend acquiring one. 

Why is the XFR number one in our book? Well, certainly not just because it was the car that famed Jaguar chassis guru Mike Cross declared his favourite when he finally called it a day – but his reasoning does rather speak to its place in history. This is the one modern performance car that Jaguar launched that didn’t just seem charming or idiosyncratic, it was also fundamentally better and lovelier than the German alternatives at the time – and when you consider the effort and investment its much larger rivals put into their flagship saloons, that was (and is) a stunning accolade. The tragedy, of course, was that Jaguar could not build on the moment – or not at game-changing volume anyway. Still, as well as the memory of what might have been, we’re at least left with the car – and thanks to its age (and dated interior) you can pick one up for little more than pocket change. Or a really nice, low-mile, one-owner example for around £20k. A future classic? Nope – it was a classic on day one, and always will be.