Jaguar F-Type R Coupe unveiled!

When Ian Callum speaks design, it doesn't feel entirely like he's speaking from a teleprompter, listlessly reading from a speech carefully combed over and picked apart by public relations professionals. No, Callum -- 59, and broadly Scottish -- speaks like an old, tenured college professor, a living institution at an institution, as if he's trying to inspire a troubled student. "Cmon," he seems to tell us, "this is how it's done."

For Callum, the F-Type Coupe has been an "emotional journey" since he started 15 years ago at Jaguar. Coupes, similarly, have always been Jaguar's game. To inspire him, Callum could do no worse than look at the XJS, the last XK, the current XK, the XJ220, the XJR-15, and something known as the E-Type, shades of which echo in the rear hatch's glass shape. Look no further than onstage at Raleigh Studios, where the F-Type Coupe was unveiled a day ahead of the LA Auto Show barely moments after it was leaked.

The unveil was definitely dramatic. Faux helicopter spotlights and police sirens underscored Jaguar's "British Villains" theme. The lights went off. Lasers down the venerable Hughes hangar created a wall of red. Spotlights shone up as one of Jaguar's test drivers flew past the assembled crowd at 80 miles per hour down the slippery, booze-stained concrete floor (it was later said that during rehearsal, he was this close, mimed a PR man, to hitting the opposite wall). Celebrities showed up: Adam Carolla, Kelly Osbourne (with pale purple hair), some supermodels, a man who yells at other men. Did Callum enjoy it? He seemed to -- and we'll be talking to him during the LA Auto Show as well.

The three-engine lineup of the coupe includes the V6 and the supercharged V6, but the F-Type R is the big news: it uses a 550-horsepower, supercharged 5.0-liter V8 that is a familiar Jaguar standby whenever the "big guns" are needed. Jaguar, said Vehicle Line Director Ian Hoban, has the "broadest range of 500+ horsepower cars in the industry." We're not arguing with that, especially nestled under the F-Type's pretty clamshell hood. Sixty miles per hour will arrive in four seconds dead, while 186 miles per hour is its limited top speed. Who dares, wins.

Issues we had with the F-Type V8S promise to be corrected by the following: Torque Vectoring by Braking to eliminate understeer, Jaguar Adaptive Dynamics with revised spring rates for progressive handling, carbon ceramic brakes (398/380mm front and rear, reducing overall unsprung weight by 46lbs) to handle that great lumpen mass of an engine, and the latest electric LSD to make the most of on-throttle rotation.

Pricing will start at $65,895, while the supercharged V6S will start at $77,895. The full-on R will tick the boxes at $99,895, or on par with the Porsche 911 and well-specced Porsche Boxsters.

Lastly, we ask you to scroll back up and look at it. A picture may be wroth a thousand words, but despite the limitless capacity for our Internet medium to put forth those words, it would simply be a waste of time. If, as we said, the F-Type "inspires poetry," Shakespeare himself would pen another sonnet.

About the LA Auto Show

The Los Angeles Auto Show has long served as a spotlight for "green" cars, and a popular place to unveil new hybrid and electric vehicles. We'll have photos, video and complete coverage of all the manufacturer reveals and top news from this year's LA Auto Show right here, so check back often.

By Blake Z. Rong