It didn't take long for Jaguar to follow up last year's F-Type convertible with a closed-roof Coupe version. I was very much in favour of this, partly because I don't particularly like driving in the open air and have no need of a car that gives me the opportunity. Some people do, and that's fine. It's just not for me.There's another, more technical reason. The body structure of an open car is less stiff than that of a closed one, and when it comes to body structure, as with so many other things, stiffer is better.This explains why Jaguar's five-litre supercharged V8 engine is restricted to a maximum of 488bhp when fitted to the convertible, while in the R Coupe tested here it is allowed to keep going to 542bhp. An F-Type convertible with that amount of power might start trying to fold itself in half when being pushed hard, but the Coupe won't.I hardly need to tell you that the Coupe is very quick. Its top speed, like that of the convertible, is limited to 186mph, but it will probably get there sooner. It's certainly quicker from 0-62mph - okay, by only a tenth of a second (4.2 versus 4.3) but at this level it takes a lot to improve the acceleration by that much.In fact, I think I like the F-Type best when it's being driven gently. It has enormous presence, of course, it has a typically smart Jaguary interior (with more headroom than you might expect), it sounds brilliant whether or not you go for the Crack Of Doom option on the variable exhaust and, with judicious use of the Configurable Dynamic Mode doo-dah the ride need not always be horrendous.Basically, if you have upwards of £85,000 to spend and you want to look impressive and feel special, this car ought to have a place on your shopping list.It won't have one on mine. There's the £85,000 thing, for a start, and anyway I feel special enough already. But I'm also not a fan of the way the F-Type R Coupe behaves when you're pushing on a bit, though I realise (before you start complaining) that this is a personal opinion and other people absolutely love it.On a smooth, constant-radius corner it's wonderful, but this is relatively easy to achieve. On more challenging bends with suboptimal surfaces it is apt to jump sideways even on a light throttle with the traction control switched on. At one point on this test, driving quite gingerly after several alarming experiences, I came closer to swapping ends at less than 25mph than I had ever done before except when performing a handbrake turn.There is quite a lot of enthusiasm for this sort of thing, and I can imagine many people whooping for joy as they straightened up and prepared to accelerate along the next straight once they got themselves heading in that direction. I just gazed gloomily at a point fifty yards ahead of me and wished I was there already.There's a rumour floating around that future F-Types will have four-wheel drive. I hope it's true. I think every 500-plus bhp Jaguar needs it, this one and the convertible equivalent above all others. There are those who say it would be duller, but I think it would be better.With 4x4, and perhaps some work on the rear suspension, the R Coupe might be a really great car, rather than one I admire but wouldn't want to spend much time with. Engine 5000cc, 8 cylinders Power 542bhp Transmission 8-speed automatic Fuel/CO2 25.5mpg / 259g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 4.2 seconds Top speed 186mph Price £85,000 Details correct at publication date
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