The Jaguar F-Type has always been a left-field choice alongside thoroughbred sports cars like the Porsche 911. What it lacked in outright precision it more than made up for in deep-chested character. In addition, Jaguar has also announced the F-Type Chequered Flag special edition. Production isn鈥檛 limited by numbers, but instead cars will be built to order for the duration of the model year. We鈥檙e now driving said special for the first time, in rear-wheel drive P380 Coupe guise. The Chequered Flag badge has been applied to both the 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre V6 models to celebrate 70 years of Jaguar sports cars. The lineage started in 1948 with the legendary XK120 and stretches seven decades through D-Type, E-Type and XK150, as well as the seventies XJ-S and nineties XK8. All F-Type Chequered Flag models feature 20-inch alloy wheels, red brake callipers and an SVO-spec body kit with bespoke badging. Together, it鈥檚 enough to give even the entry-level Ingenium models a whiff of flagship V8 style.
At 拢72,715, our car commands a premium of 拢5,760 over the equivalent P380 R-Dynamic model, which seems a little steep given the standard car鈥檚 generous kit list. There are just three paint colours to choose from, but if you rate the styling tweaks and extra exclusivity, it鈥檚 worth a look. Inside there鈥檚 special Windsor leather, contrast stitching and black suede headlining, as well as a red 12 o鈥檆lock marker on the steering wheel. There鈥檚 some dark aluminium trim on the dash, but otherwise is standard F-Type fare. That鈥檚 no bad thing. Even six years since it launched, the Jag Coupe feels well built inside. The infotainment system is a little laggy - and still lacks Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity - but the way the cabin cocoons around you ensures you鈥檙e rarely distracted from the task in hand. And the F-Type remains a car of unparalleled character - at least in V6 trim. The engine is raucous, and while it can鈥檛 match the almost anti-social V8 for noise, the constant underlying burble feels perfectly judged; fizzing away at idle and gargling purposefully around town. Find a piece of open road however and the engine comes alive, screaming to the redline with a soundtrack like no other. A new (or old, for that matter) 911 is sharper to drive; the steering better judged and the chassis more compliant. But that doesn鈥檛 mean the F-Type feels aged or misjudged. It鈥檚 still a fantastic all-rounder, with an excellent eight-speed automatic gearbox and acceptable motorway refinement. We tried our rear-wheel-drive Coupe back-to-back with an all-wheel-drive Convertible, and the difference was night and day. The AWD system makes the F-Type a fantastic all-weather car; where the drop-top gripped with unflappable traction, its fixed-roof sibling displayed a keen propensity to step out with all the driver aids disabled.
Only inflators with the desiccant calcium sulfate are currently under recall; these inflators still contain the propellant ammonium nitrate. The affected automakers will release separate recalls at a later date. UPDATE 7/12/2017, 11:00 a.m.: Honda has confirmed another fatality from airbag ruptures in its vehicles, according to the Associated Press. On June 18, 2016, an 81-year-old man in Hialeah, Florida, allegedly was performing 鈥渦nknown repairs鈥?with a hammer while inside a 2001 Honda Accord. The vehicle was running, and the driver鈥檚-side front airbag deployed and shot out shrapnel. Police and witnesses still do not know what the man was doing when he was found unconscious inside the car. He died the next day. This is the 12th fatality from faulty Takata airbags in the U.S., all but one in Honda vehicles. Of the tens of millions of cars under recall in the U.S., 2001-2003 Honda and Acura models are the most dangerous.
NHTSA estimates that these cars have a 50-50 chance of an airbag rupturing. UPDATE 7/17/2017, 4:00 p.m.: Mazda is recalling 19,000 cars in South Africa鈥攊ncluding the 2, 6, and RX-8鈥攆or 2003 and later models, according to Wheels24. About 70 million of the roughly 100 million airbag inflators under recall globally are in the U.S. UPDATE 7/21/2017, 2:30 p.m.: Ford is petitioning NHTSA to not recall 2.5 million cars declared defective by Takata earlier this month, according to Reuters. The automaker wants to continue testing but believes the particular inflators pose an 鈥渋nconsequential鈥?risk. The vehicles in question include: 2007-2011 Ranger, 2006-2012 Fusion and Lincoln MKZ, 2006-2011 Mercury Milan, and 2007-2010 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. In January, GM petitioned NHTSA to exempt certain 2007-2011 pickups and SUVs (based on the GMT900 platform) from recalls until the automaker finished its evaluations by late August. NHTSA has not granted or denied either petition. Also, Nissan has added 515,394 Versas, from model years 2007 through 2012, to this recall because the cars contain potentially defective inflators for their Takata-supplied driver鈥檚-side airbags.
UPDATE 7/24/2017, 9:45 a.m.: Reuters reports that an Australian man died in Sydney after he crashed his 2007 Honda CR-V and the airbag sent shrapnel into his neck. Honda confirmed to Reuters that the car had a defective airbag. The deaths of 18 people worldwide have now been attributed to these airbags. Also, Mazda is requesting that NHTSA not recall additional B-series pickups; this comes in conjunction with Ford鈥檚 recent petition that claims in part that airbags in many of its Ranger pickups do not pose a risk of rupturing. The B-series is a clone of the Ford Ranger. UPDATE 7/28/2017, 10:00 a.m.: Reuters reports that a 34-year-old woman in Holiday, Florida, was killed last week in a 2002 Honda Accord after the airbag ruptured during a head-on collision. While officials have not determined the exact cause of death, she is likely the 19th person to die from defective Takata airbags.
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