The New Jaguar F-TYPE Hot Wheels Challenge
2020 5.0 litre V8 423kW Supercharged AWD Petrol Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé and Hot Wheels DragStrip Champion Track
Photo Credits Ziyaad Plaatjes
On Tuesday 15 September, that's exactly how I felt when I entered the Jaguar Land Rover Experience centre in Lonehill.
Jaguar had teamed up with Hot Wheels to give a few media representatives, a day they will never forget.
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We were greeted by the electrifying Jaguar I-PACE in the reception area of the JLR Experience centre, which was surrounded by a fully assembled Hot Wheels track, with part of the track placed through the floor of the passenger and driver's seat of the 2020 AutoTrader South African Car of the Year Winner.
Hot Wheels Track with Jaguar I-PACE
Photo Credits Ziyaad Plaatjes
An innovative specially designed challenge was created for us to officially launch the new Jaguar F-TYPE while enjoying Mattel's top selling die-cast car toy, and many people's favourite (including mine) - Hot Wheels.
We were split up into three teams of two, to compete against each other, with three separate challenges for the competition.
Martin Headger and I were one of the three teams, and on the roster we were Team Number 3.
Jaguar F-TYPE Hot Wheels Challenge
At the Jaguar Land Rover Experience Centre there is a restaurant upstairs called TLC On The Track where we treated to breakfast, before the challenges of the day began.
On the way up the stairs, was a Hot Wheels track fitted with a few loops.
I enjoyed a delicious two cheese & mushroom omelette from TLC - two egg omelette with cheddar, mozzarella, grilled mushrooms and a slice of toast.
Our first challenge was the Hot Seat Challenge with the new 5.0l V8 423kW Supercharged All Wheel Drive Petrol Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé in Velocity Blue.
Before jumping into the F-TYPE, in each round we had to first complete a Hot Wheels challenge.
Since we were on the Dynamic Driving Track with the F-TYPE for this challenge, to bring us down to size (literally), we were required to earn some points and complete a Hot Wheels Drag Race with one of the instructors on the Hot Wheels DragStrip Competition Track.
Ziyaad going head-to-head with Jaguar Instructor, Marcel on the Hot Wheels DragStrip Competition Track
For the Hot Seat Challenge with the F-TYPE we had to drive the powerful V8 Jaguar through the auto slaloms from one end of the track to the the other. However this challenge had a bit of a twist. Instead of doing the usual turn around a cone and coming back down the track, we had to bring the 5.0l Supercharged engine to a complete stop, and then reverse the whole way back.
Forgive me for being a cautious driver but I am not used to reversing at very high speeds, especially in a R2.5 million sports car. This did cost me some points, as this was a timed challenge. I did score some points for not knocking over any cones, if that is any consolation.
Even though there is a crystal clear live reverse camera (which I didn't end up using) - I opted to use the side mirrors instead. I love the way the side mirrors automatically adjust when you reverse in the F-TYPE, which helps you to see more of the road while reversing, and makes those smaller objects like cones on the road a lot easier to see.
The next part of the Hot Seat Challenge was the Dragstrip. This is where we got to test the torque and of course the brake system.
The V8 Supercharged F-TYPE R Coupé can reach a top speed of 300km/h and accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds. Even while I had my foot flat down on the accelerator, I still felt very safe and secure, and the brakes gave me more comfort, as I just had to gently tap and it can take all that power away in a matter of seconds. The All Wheel Drive (AWD) system definitely makes a huge difference when it comes to quick starts and stops.
Ziyaad parked perfectly in the block with the 5.0 litre V8 423kW Supercharged AWD Petrol Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé
Before the challenge with the F-TYPE, we once again needed to score a few points on the Hot Wheels Triple Loop Track. I'll say it again - it's not as easy as they make it look like in the Hot Wheels adverts. I had a good start with my practice round, and I managed to get the Hot Wheels car around three loops before crashing off the track. The confidence boost was not a good thing because I failed dismally in my actual scored attempts - in one attempt the car flew right off the track.
For the Hot on the Move Challenge we had to solve a riddle and drive to three shopping centres in the Fourways area. To complete the challenge, we drove the same specced 5.0l V8 Supercharged Petrol AWD Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé, but this time in the Atacama Orange colour.
The Riddle for the Challenge was: "Don't lose your way at the crossing while making a buzz all about the Jaguar F-TYPE Design."
In this challenge we were scored on the shortest distance, lowest fuel economy, and each correct centre visited.
Martin and I scored maximum points for this one as he navigated us through the shortest route from the JLR Experience Centre to Design Quarter, The Buzz Shopping Centre, Fourways Crossing and back to the Experience Centre.
I managed to keep the fuel down on the Supercharged V8 engine with 12.6l/100km, which was pretty impressive for the short stop and start distance that we drove in the Fourways area.
The final challenge was the Handling Challenge.
Our car for this challenge was the 3.0l V6 280kW Turbocharged RWD Petrol Jaguar F-TYPE R-Dynamic Convertible in the Constellation colour.
For the Hot Wheels Challenge we had to make sure that the Hot Wheels car drifted along the circular Drift Master Champion track hitting two flags on the way and parking back in the garage at the start.
This sounds like the most difficult of all the Hot Wheels challenges, but for some reason was the easiest for me, and I managed to score maximum points.
Hot Wheels Drift Master Champion Track
On the skidpad, the first challenge was one of memory for Martin who was driving the P380 Automatic Convertible F-TYPE R-Dynamic. He was given a set of colours to remember by our instructor, which was the sequence he needed to navigate through the "gates" of coloured cones on the course.
It was not difficult to score maximum points for this challenge in the sleek blue V6, and we were doing quite well for a change. That was until we were told about the next part of the challenge....
We were required to drift the rear wheel drive convertible F-TYPE through each gate: red, blue, lime, and orange, to achieve our points. This sounds easy and should be with a RWD, until you accelerate too much and end up spinning around in a circle instead of through the gates - which I kept on doing at the orange gate, with the top down of the R1.6 million convertible sports car.
I managed to slide through a few gates, but not enough to get us the points we needed to take the first or second spot in the challenge.
2020 3.0 litre V6 280kW Turbocharged RWD Petrol Jaguar F-TYPE P380 R-Dynamic Convertible
Sadly we finished last, but the whole JLR Experience combined with what I learnt about the new V6 Turbocharged Convertible and V8 Supercharged Coupé Jaguar F-TYPE and Hot Wheels as a whole, was a prize in itself.
The winners of the overall challenge received a 90 min JLR Experience voucher, and a seat to compete in the New Land Rover Defender Challenge where they stand a chance of winning a trip to Botswana.
The base price (without extras) of the V8 Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé which we drove is R2,422,700 and the V6 Jaguar F-TYPE R-Dynamic Convertible is R1,511,800.
The F-TYPE Coupé is available from R1,243,000 for the 2.0 litre 4-cylinder 221kW Turbocharged RWD Petrol P300 R-Dynamic and the top of the range is the 5.0 litre V8 Supercharged which we tested.
The F-TYPE Convertible is available from R1,241,000 with the same P300 engine as the coupé, and the top of the range is the P575 5.0 litre V8 423kW Supercharged engine which starts at R2,421,000.
The Hot Wheels Drift Master Champion Set I did not manage to find at any South African stores, but retails for $15 overseas, and the 2020 Jaguar F-TYPE Hot Wheels car is set for stores in 2021.
The Hot Wheels DragStrip Champion Set retails for R440 and the Hot Wheels Triple Loop Set retails for R900.
I think I need to invest in these Hot Wheels tracks, and maybe an F-TYPE to brush up on my skills on and off the track.
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Ziyaad Plaatjes is the Co-Founder of iloveza.com.
He is a Bachelor of Commerce Honours graduate and has been running businesses since the age of 13. Ziyaad is a registered Financial Advisor, but has taken on many roles in various industries over the years. With his entrepreneurial skills and vast knowledge he assists individuals and businesses to grow and achieve their goals.
Find him at: Instagram: @ziyaad_86 / @ilovezacom Twitter: @ziyaad86 / @ilovezacom Facebook: iloveza.com LinkedIn: Ziyaad Plaatjes / iloveza.com YouTube: iloveza.com SoundCloud: iloveza.com E-mail: ziyaad@iloveza.com
