The Brits have been aiming at the Germans for a long time and the Jaguar F Type R looks like it may be the biggest rival to the German trio. To see if that’s really the case, Sam CarLegion has arranged for the Jaguar F Type R to go up against a BMW M4 Competition. Both vehicles couldn’t be more different if they wanted to so, by all accounts, we have an interesting battle on our hands.

The Contenders

Jaguar F Type R

On paper, the Jaguar should have this one in a bag. Its 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 packs 575 horsepower and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm). Power is sent to all four wheels through a ZF, eight-speed automatic. The “Jag” tips the scales at 3,920 pounds (1,778 kg).

BMW M4 Competition

The BMW M4 Competition comes with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six, which makes 503 horsepower and 479 pound-feet (650 Nm). While xDrive all-wheel drive is available, the car here is rear-wheel-drive only. The M4 Competition has the same ZF, eight-speed although with different calibration. At 3,880 pounds (1,760 kg), the Bavarian coupe has a negligible weight advantage.

The drag race

As expected, it’s best out of three, with both cars in their sportiest setting. For some reason, the transmission in the Jaguar decided to short-shift, allowing the rear-wheel-drive BMW to catch up after a bad start and win the first round.

In the second round, the M4 Competition, again, had a delay off the line. This time the Jaguar rocketed ahead and stayed there until the end, pulling a bus length on the BMW.

It was down to the third race and what we saw was very interesting. The supercharger Jaguar jumper off the line, but the less powerful BMW was catching up. The gearbox calibration of the M4 seems to have resulted in much crisper shifts, compared to the F Type R. Alas, a quarter-mile was not long enough for the M4 to catch up, meaning victory went to the British cat.

The roll race

The roll race clearly favored the lighter BMW and its torque inline-six. From 30 mph (48 km/h) it destroyed the Jag at the start. It seemed like the Jaguar could have put an end to the M4’s gapping, and it even crossed the line at a noticeably higher trap speed. However, the “Jag” would have needed a much longer runway to catch up. On a short distance, the BMW had a clear advantage.

That said, the Jaguar is the more old-school vehicle as well as the better-sounding one in our opinion. Take a look at the video below and see for yourselves/