Northwestern Connecticut comes with grazing cows, Colonial architecture, and stately oaks—a bucolic setting that invites you to drive, top down, along the many lovely back roads. But we didn't head there to soak up the scenery. We went to see how Jaguar's return to the roadster arena compares with the niche's all-star in a shootout that was referred to around the office as the Battle of the Berkshires. Porsche's Boxster S versus Jaguar's stunning F-Type S: Scoring would be in 10 categories, with up to five points awarded in each.

Both have blue-blood racing heritage. Jaguar has won Le Mans seven times; Porsche, a record 16. Beyond that, our two cars have little in common, starting with the way they look. The F-Type has a mammoth, air-gulping "mouth" intended to suggest great power; instead, it suggests Aston Martin's similar visual effect, which was designed by the same man. No matter. It's a classic shape, and it blends beautifully with the headlight assembly. The back has a narrow band of taillights that accentuates the Jag's width and contributes to its firm stance. The looks make a strong first impression, and the subtleties of the car's styling reward further inspection—for example, door handles that open with the push of a button and retract like airplane wheels when the car moves off.

The F-Type uses styling cues intended to give it a romantic flair, while the Boxster's look is self-referential, its proportions dictated by its mid-engine layout. No illusions here; what you see is what you get. The great architect Louis Kahn advocated using materials in the way that best suited them, and he would have been delighted with how each of the Boxster's components seemingly knew exactly where it should go. (One exception: the little spoiler at the back, a fussy feature that detracts from the total effect.)

In the cockpit, both cars score high marks with seats that provide excellent support and are infinitely adjustable. As for elegance, there's a profligate use of hand-stitched leather. The Jag features a large, rather strange handle that helps the passenger get settled. The car really envelops you, its beltline somewhere around your chin, hood looming large, along with vents that rise from the dash like surveillance cameras when the ignition is switched on. The Porsche is more relaxed, easier to get into and to see out of. You feel at home immediately.

Heather McGrath

The couple of seconds between pushing a car's start button (or turning its key) and an engine settling into an idle has become a creative opportunity up there with nuancing the sound and feel of a door slam. Here, the Boxster offers nothing special, while the engineers at Jag have the F-Type emitting a joyous blast, its tach surging toward the redline. The loud bark that follows ruins any hope of a stealthy getaway.

We took the cars out into a world of green—the glowing hills of a Northeast summer—driving fast along narrow, winding roads with names like White Hollow and Salmon Kill. Suspension? The Boxster has struts all around, the Jag a control-arm setup, and both cars flirt with the line between sporty and just plain too stiff. Steering? The Jaguar's feels faster, maybe a touch too fast, but both cars have just the right amount of power assist. And the steering wheels on both cars have thick, Formula 1-style rims. Each accelerator gives just the right travel and resistance. The Boxster was well-planted, covering ground with a relaxed gait, a car that inspired confidence. The Jag flowed as easily along the same roads, its engine responsive to the lightest touch, its exhaust a satisfying bellow, with much popping and crackling as the car coasted. All these sounds were electronic creations, but who cares? We had a sunny day, two fine cars, and a date with Lime Rock Park's 1.5 miles of asphalt. So far, the Boxster and the F-Type had scored pretty evenly, with the edge going to the Porsche. It's more sure-footed, a little less bouncy than the Jag, although we're splitting hairs. As we pulled onto Lime Rock's sinewy asphalt, we wondered: Would lapping a track even things out?

This was the time for these cars' racing heritage, the pur-sang stuff, to show itself. On paper, it was a classic confrontation between horsepower and handling. The Jag's edge was its supercharged 3.0-liter V6, delivering a stout 380 hp, while the Porsche's advantage came from its mid-engine layout and rear-biased, 46/54 weight distribution. Not that the 315-hp Boxster was exactly underpowered. The two cars' 0-to-60 times were almost the same, in the low four-second bracket, the Jag a staggering 684 pounds heavier but also more powerful.

The pleasant surprise was the Jaguar's handling. It understeered, but far less than expected. Nonetheless, as lap times came in, the Porsche's superiority was conclusive and absolute. It could go deeper into the turns, the brake pedal alive under your foot, telling you exactly what was going on. The Jag could go almost as deep, but without the feel for the limit. The Porsche oversteered usefully, which is to say you could get the tail out and steer with the throttle, making it more agile in the turns.

Heather McGrath

Both cars offered an array of handling options, from letting the car virtually drive itself to having no electronic interference at all. We preferred the latter, but regardless of setting, the Boxster just ran off into the distance. It turned 1:02s in the hands of your rapid Editor-in-Chief Larry Webster, while the best he could do in the Jag was more than two seconds slower. (Keep in mind that slow is a relative term. By Lime Rock standards, these cars were blisteringly fast—at least a second under what the railbirds predicted.)

The most progressive component of either car was its transmission. The F-Type's eight-speed ZF automatic is a magnificent piece of engineering, one of the best transmissions in the business. At Lime Rock, it used second through sixth, snapping off shifts with none of the laziness common to torque converters, and the shifts were so smooth and telepathic that they were barely noticeable, even when they came in a turn. The Porsche's PDK automatic had seven speeds and two clutches—in theory, a setup even better than the Jag's, though we were hard-pressed to nail down which we preferred.

So how much? The Boxster S lists for $61,850; the F-Type S, $20,000 more. But wait! Here it says that our particular Porsche, as tested, goes for $101,070. One minute we had a bargain, the next, a car nearly $20,000 more expensive than a base 911. What does that 40 large buy you? That tranny: $3200. Carbon-ceramic brakes: $7400. And so on.

The rules of this test mandate that we pick a winner, but the more we got to know the cars, the more different they became. Not just in layout, but in scope: The Porsche is a much-developed machine in its third generation, honed over years into one of the best sports cars ever built. The Jaguar is an excellent first shot and great in its own right, but it doesn't benefit from the same momentum.

Heather McGrath

In the end, we found ourselves searching for that one special feature that would tip the scales—and found it, sitting in the bright sun, in pit lane. The Jag, in all its magisterial whiteness. And where was the Boxster? Why, out on the track, tearing around, a true driver's car, one that makes you want to do another lap, and another after that, and then take the long way home.

Road & Track advisor and contributing editor Sam Posey has raced in everything from the original Trans-Am series to Formula 1. A man of broad interests, he's covered the Tour de France for ABC and designed several buildings. He lives in Connecticut, where he paints daily, runs his Corvette Z06 at Lime Rock, and tears up local pastures in a mini dune buggy. —Ed.

Click through to page 2 for full instrumented test results.

Lime Rock Park - Lakeville, CT

Lap Times

Porsche Boxster S - 1:02.33

Jaguar F-Type S - 1:04.49

At 1.5 miles, Connecticut's Lime Rock Park is one of the country's shortest, if trickiest, road courses. Locals like Sam Posey and the late Paul Newman have learned its many nuances via the Lime Rock Drivers Club. For a few grand a year (plus a hefty initiation fee), members get weekly open track sessions and free coaching. We brought the Jaguar and Porsche to a Club event that was wonderfully short on formality and long on track time. Here's how the two cars fared. —Larry Webster

The Decision

The Porsche's superiority was conclusive and absolute. It could go deeper into the turns, the brake pedal alive under your foot and telling you exactly what was going on. The Jag could go almost as deep, but without the feel for the limit.

Drivers awarded their favorite car in each category with a maximum of five available points. Scores were then averaged and added to determine our winner.

Jaguar F-Type S Porsche Boxster S 4 Steering Feel 5 4 Handling 5 4 Ride 4.5 5 Engine Pull 3.5 5 Exhaust Note 3.5 4 Brake-Pedal Feel 5 4.5 Driver Comfort/Support 4.5 4.5 Exterior Styling 4.5 4 Interior Ergonomics/Styling 4.5 4 Gearbox 5 43 TOTAL 45

Test Conditions

Temperature: 48°F

Relative Humidity: 61%

Elevation: 930 ft

Wind: Calm

Location: Chelsea, Michigan

2014 Jaguar F-Type S 2013 Porsche Boxster S PRICE BASE PRICE $81,895 $61,850 PRICE AS TESTED $91,965 $101,070 ENGINE LAYOUT front, longitudinal mid, longitudinal CONFIGURATION V-6 H-6 INDUCTION supercharged naturally aspirated MATERIAL aluminum block and heads aluminum block and heads VALVETRAIN DOHC, 24 valves DOHC, 24 valves DISPLACEMENT 2995 cc 3436 cc BORE x STROKE 84.5 x 89.0 mm 99.0 x 77.5 mm COMPRESSION RATIO 10.5:1 12.5:1 PEAK HORSEPOWER (SAE) 380 hp @ 6500 rpm 315 hp @ 6700 rpm PEAK TORQUE 339 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm 266 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm REDLINE 6600 rpm 7600 rpm FUEL DELIVERY direct direct TRANSMISSION DRIVEN WHEELS rear rear TRANSMISSION TYPE 8-speed automatic 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual FINAL-DRIVE RATIO 3.31:1, limited-slip differential 3.89:1, limited-slip differential GEAR RATIO MAX SPEED (RPM) RATIO MAX SPEED (RPM) 1 4.71:1 34 (6800) 3.91:1 44 (7800) 2 3.14:1 51 (6800) 2.29:1 75 (7800) 3 2.11:1 76 (6800) 1.65:1 104 (7800) 4 1.67:1 96 (6800) 1.30:1 132 (7800) 5 1.29:1 125 (6800) 1.08:1 159 (7800) 6 1.00:1 160 (6800) 0.88:1 172 (6850) 7 0.84:1 171 (6100) 0.62:1 172 (4825) 8 0.67:1 171 (4850) — MATERIALS & DIMENSIONS CONSTRUCTION, CHASSIS aluminum steel and aluminum CONSTRUCTION, BODY aluminum steel and aluminum LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT 176.0/75.7/51.0 in 172.2/70.9/50.4 in WHEELBASE 103.2 in 97.4 in TRACK FRONT/REAR 62.4/64.1 in 60.1/60.6 in DOORS/SEATS 2/2 2/2 EPA CLASS 2-seater 2-seater CARGO CAPACITY 7.0 ft3 9.9 ft3 DRAG COEFFICIENT x FRONTAL AREA 0.36 x 24.2 ft2 0.31 x 21.3 ft2 CHASSIS FRONT SUSPENSION upper and lower A-arms strut-type REAR SUSPENSION upper and lower A-arms strut-type FRONT BRAKES 15.0-in vented rotors, 2-piston sliding calipers 13.0-in vented rotors, 4-piston fixed calipers REAR BRAKES 12.8-in vented rotors, 1-piston sliding calipers 11.8-in vented rotors, 4-piston fixed calipers TIRES Pirelli P Zero Pirelli P Zero TIRE SIZE FRONT, REAR 255/35ZR-20, 295/30ZR-20 235/35ZR-20, 265/35ZR-20 STEERING ASSIST hydraulic electric STEERING RATIO 14.6:1 16.5:1 to 12.4:1, variable TURNS, LOCK-TO-LOCK 2.4 2.6 TURNING CIRCLE 35.0 ft 36.0 ft WEIGHT & FUEL CURB WEIGHT 3839 lb 3155 lb DISTRIBUTION F/R 53/47% 44/56% WEIGHT-TO-POWER RATIO 10.1 lb/hp 10.0 lb/hp EPA CITY/HWY 19/27 mpg 21/30 mpg OUR FUEL MILEAGE 22.3 mpg 25.2 mpg FUEL CAPACITY 19.0 gallons 16.9 gallons RANGE 513 miles 507 miles RECOMMENDED FUEL premium premium ACCELERATION 1 FOOT (ROLLOUT) 0.3 sec 0.3 sec ROLLING START, 5–60 MPH 4.8 sec 5.0 sec QUARTER-MILE 12.7 sec @ 110.0 mph 12.6 sec @ 109.7 mph 0–10 0.3 sec 0.3 sec 20 0.9 0.8 30 1.6 1.4 40 2.3 2.1 50 3.2 3.0 60 4.2 4.1 70 5.4 5.3 80 6.8 6.7 90 8.4 8.4 100 10.3 10.3 110 12.7 12.7 120 15.4 15.5 130 19.4 19.0 140 25.9 23.7 150 32.2 30.4 TOP SPEED 171 mph (electronically limited, manufacturer claim) 172 mph (manufacturer claim) BRAKING & HANDLING 60–0 MPH 112 ft 110 ft 80–0 MPH 196 ft 192 ft FADE none none ROADHOLDING 0.92 g 0.97 g BALANCE mild understeer neutral

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io