THE first Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupe to be built for a UK customer has been presented to the company's new UK ambassador, Chelsea football manager Jose Mourinho.

Series production of the new performance model is now underway at Jaguar's Castle Bromwich manufacturing facility and the first car was presented to the self-styled Special One by two Jaguar manufacturing employees.

The coupe, which follows the convertible version launched last year, is billed as the most dynamically capable, performance-focused production Jaguar ever and is headlined by the R version.

Complete with a 550PS 5.0-litre V8 supercharged engine, the flagship model can scorch from 0-60mph in 4.0-seconds and on to a limited top speed of 186mph.

Highlights of Mourinho's car include Stratus grey metallic exterior paint, 20-inch Gyrodyne black and diamond turned wheels with red brake calipers, panoramic glass roof and a 12-speaker Meridian surround sound system. 

The Portuguese coach said:"I am very proud to now own the new F-TYPE R Coupe. It was an honour to receive this spectacular sports car from the gentlemen responsible for building it and I would like to thank the Jaguar team at Castle Bromwich for producing such a wonderful car."

Two members of the Castle Bromwich manufacturing team were invited to present the car to Mourinho.

Steven Gaut was given the opportunity in recognition of his contribution at Castle Bromwich, and his support of local charities for whom he has raised over £60,000. He was joined in presenting the car by Plant Quality manager Gary Johnson.

The F-TYPE R Coupe joins a Jaguar product line-up which now features R or R-S-branded products across every nameplate in the model range.

And to mark the first deliveries to customers, the brand has launched a network of 20 specialist R Performance centres at selected UK dealerships.

Jaguar customers will be able to drive the cars on test routes designed by professional drivers and every R Performance centre will be equipped with iPads loaded with apps affording users access to technical information, performance data and interactive media covering every R model in the Jaguar range.