Modified 453bhp 2014 Jaguar F-Type V6 Coupe

One man’s mission to make his Jaguar stand out from the crowd has seen this F-Type gain a subtle new identity.

WORDS PAUL WAGER

PHOTOGRAPHY GREG OWAIN

Plumbed in

Uprated F-Type - Is this modified V6 better than the V8? Subtle changes and an unwavering vision make a big difference to this supercharged V6.

The upgrade takes the engine from the 340bhp of the standard V6 to a handy 453bhp 

So you’re in the motor trade then?” is a question I often find myself asking when chatting to Jaguar owners on photo shoots, but in the case of Darren Jackson’s modified F-Type, the number plate told me all I needed to know. As you might have guessed, he’s in the heating and plumbing business and as a result spends his working week at the wheel of a white Vivaro, to which the Jaguar makes a welcome contrast come the weekend.

Darren’s journey with the F-Type began with a tour of the Castle Bromwich plant courtesy of a family member employed at JLR, during which he had the chance to sit in a pre-production prototype. Clearly impressed, our man made up his mind there and then that he’d get one. “I thought I’ll buy one of these when I’m 60,” he remembers, but an unexpected inheritance a few years later saw him achieve his goal a decade earlier.

This was back in 2017 and the perfect car was located at a Jaguar main dealer: a base model 2014 V6 coupe, three years old at the time and showing 8000 miles... although the term ‘base’ is rather misleading since the entry-level F-Type runs the supercharged V6 engine good for 340bhp.

As viewed, the car wore the chrome detailing on the windows and wing vents, but Darren knew exactly what he was after and had the ‘Black pack’ fitted by the supplying dealer, sensibly leaving them to deal with any broken clips and similar.

As you can imagine, on a white car that simple change transformed its appearance and Darren was suitably inspired to take things further. Like so many of us 50-somethings, he was into Mk2 Escorts in his late teens and admits that the only thing which would have swayed him from the F-Type was a nice Mk2 at the right price. Meanwhile, the modifying bug contracted during his Escort days had never really gone away, which explains why the Jaguar was destined not to stay showroom-stock for long.

Job number one was to get rid of the bumper bar in the nose, in the interests of giving the car a cleaner look. This was achieved relatively easily by buying the Project Seven front grille assembly, although it did require the nosecone to be removed in order to fit it. Ever the perfectionist though, Darren made the most of the opportunity to get the front end repainted while it was off the car, to deal with the few stone chips it came with. The new grille also meant there was nowhere to house the number plate, so harking back to his Escort days, Darren had a stick-on plate made up. A proper job, with the correct font, spacing and reflective backing it makes a subtle but effective difference with a nice hint of classic E-Type to it.

“That really started me off,” he laughs and explains how the next stop was David Appleby Engineering (once famed for their expertise in the Metro 6R4), which happened to be the UK distributor for Canadian brand Velocity Automotive Performance. More commonly known as simply VAP, this brand is better known for its Aston Martin and Lamborghini products but is also one of the few to cater for the Jaguar F-Type.

Darren didn’t need much persuading to settle for VAP’s full V6 Power Pack, which is centred around a larger crankshaft pulley to spin the supercharger faster and paired with a matching drive belt and a suitable stage 2 remap.

The supercharger upgrade was complemented by a pair of 200-cell sports catalysts which sound glorious, but sensibly Darren retained the OEM rear exhaust box in order to keep the switchable sound. “I like to get on with my neighbours,” he explains, pointing out that the uprated V6 wouldn’t be popular on his regular early-Saturday departures to the Jaguar Breakfast Club. “Up to 3000rpm it sounds epic,” he reports. “But from 4000-5000rpm... it’s just wonderful.” VAP claims the upgrade takes the engine from the 340bhp of the standard V6 to a handy 453bhp, which is just edging past the current V8 and Darren reports that it’s been faultlessly reliable, still driving smoothly at lower speeds and an easy car to live with when keeping the speed down through villages or in traffic.

While the car was at Appleby, it was also lowered 20mm each end, courtesy once more of VAP, although Darren admits that he’s highly unlikely to take his cherished F-Type on track in anger: it was done purely for the aesthetics and you won’t be surprised to find that he’s very pleased with the result.

The most obvious difference from standard though is the wheels and here it seems that Darren is a step ahead of Jaguar itself, which has just announced gloss black 20-inchers as part of the F-Type 75 edition. No doubt the car was spotted at one of the Gaydon meets by JLR staff...

These Vorsteiner rims are destined to be somewhat rarer than the 75 edition, since there are only five sets suitable for the F-Type’s PCD in existence worldwide. Two are in the USA, one set is in Australia and there are two sets in the UK, one of which you’re looking at here.

They weren’t actually black originally, but a graphite grey, Darren specifying the colour change before delivery. Moving up to 21-inch wheels involved some juggling with tyre profiles to keep the rolling diameter unchanged and avoid affecting speedometer or gearing, which explains the 30-profile rear and 25-profile front Michelin Pilot Sport rubber on the car. Sidewalls this shallow and easily-chipped black paint aren’t an easy combination to keep looking nice and if you’re following a white Jaguar in Nottnghamshire which seems to be going round the potholes rather than through them, then you’ll know why. “The lengths I go to avoid potholes!” he laughs. “I just won’t use the A46 south from Nottingham to Leicester...”

They do look good though, especially in the flesh when you can appreciate the hefty dish on the rears. Behind them, you’ll find a set of uprated brakes, boasting eight pistons in the front calipers and six at the rear. A total of 28 pistons Darren admits is probably overkill, especially since the standard brakes are hardly lacking, but the original discs and calipers would have looked somewhat lost inside the big wheels.

“I wanted it to look ‘OEM Plus’” but one step further, explains Darren, referring to the factory-style mods so popular in the German car scene and we reckon he’s achieved just that: the car doesn’t look over the top but is subtly different from the standard offering.

It’s still relatively unusual to find a modified F-Type although it seems that if you do, the owner may well be clued-up on boilers and heating since of the Jaguar Breakfast Club regulars, at least three owners of modified F-Types are in the plumbing business.

So is it finished yet? Yes... and no. Apart from the idea of sourcing some different seats and suitable frames, the car itself is pretty much where he wanted it, but Darren’s not finished with the modifying bug, admitting he’s still looking for that elusive Mk2 Escort...

ABOVE: Project Seven grille tidied up the front end.

BOTTOM: Standard rear box was retained with its switchable quiet option.