Actor Sharlto Copley is an official Jaguar Ambassador

Proud Jaguar brand ambassador and internationally renowned Hollywood actor Sharlto Copley recently hit the streets of Cape Town to put the Jaguar F-TYPE to the test.

The famous South African movie star export, who recently tied the knot with Sports Illustrated model Tanit Phoenix in the Mother City, took the opportunity to test this powerful piece of engineering and push its limits. He did the road test before returning to the craziness of Los Angeles and Austin, Texas for the premiere of Hardcore Henry – the world’s first action POV (a film shot from a first person perspective) feature film.

Copley is best known for his role as Wikus van der Merwe in the Oscar-nominated film District 9, but his talents lie both on and off screen as he has also worked as director and producer. He has starred as the well-known Murdock in 20^th Century Fox’s version of The A-Team and the box office hits Elysium, Chappie, and Maleficent.

Thrilled to be able to connect with an exciting and sassy brand that he grew up with and loves, Copley was aided by high performance and former South African Touring Car Championship racer Deon Joubert around a Cape Town International Airport hangar.

Copley, who is known to occasionally do stunt driving scenes in movies, smoothly drifted and spun doughnuts as he freely broke all rules of the road in a tightly controlled, locked off set-up.

“This was not just about driving around in a really cool car, it also gave me the chance, as a Jaguar F-TYPE ambassador, to showcase how I think the brand is evolving, becoming younger, sportier and even more exciting,” said Copley.

“The aim was to learn how to push the F-TYPE and myself to the limit and experience what it really can do. It doesn’t help driving such a powerful piece of engineering if you don’t know how to use it to its full potential.”

Copley moves in a high-powered industry where he mingles with other celebrities, and where the conversation does gravitate towards the cars people like to drive. Our home-grown Hollywood icon mused that being able to say that he drove a Jaguar was great, but saying that he was also a Jaguar brand ambassador was even better!

“I would love to buy the F-TYPE R AWD Coupé. It is an extraordinary car and a real beast,” said Copley. “I would certainly apply all the skills and techniques that the legendary Deon Joubert shared with me in taking control of such a car.”

The Jaguar brand has experienced a transformation over the past few years and has one of the most exciting model line-ups to continue dazzling younger customers. Last year it introduced the Jaguar XE, a compact sports sedan with the dynamics of the Jaguar F-TYPE. Earlier this year it launched the All-New Jaguar XF, a business sedan built on the company’s lightweight aluminium architecture and boasting the latest technologies.

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show Jaguar also introduced the fastest, most-powerful F-TYPE yet: the F-TYPE SVR. Its supercharged 5.0-litre V8 produces 423kW and 700Nm, enough to propel it from a standstill to 100km/h in just 3.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 322km/h.

And in the middle of this year, Jaguar will launch its first-ever SUV, the All-New Jaguar F-PACE. Combining the driving dynamics of the F-TYPE with the space and functionality of a family vehicle, it is the world’s ultimate practical sports car.

Follow Jaguar South Africa

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram