Jaguar's new F-Type R Coupe with "instinctive" AWD is shown preparing for a run in South Africa.

Jaguar is punching up the performance quotient of its popular F-Type Coupe with an R edition that helps put all its power to the pavement with a new “instinctive” all-wheel-drive system.

To get the word out about the system, meanwhile, the automaker is partnering up with Bloodhound SSC, a British team setting out for a world land speed record in excess of 1,000 mph.

The new F-Type R Coupe AWD system is one of a number of performance enhancements that Jaguar will reveal during the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month, Vehicle Line Director Ian Hoban saying, “Our target with engineering the all-wheel-drive F-TYPE was to maintain the engaging rear-drive character that’s so important to Jaguar sports cars, yet offer even greater dynamic capability.”

All-wheel-drive has become a must for luxury manufacturers, particularly if they hope to compete in the Snowbelt regions of the critical U.S. market. Mercedes-Benz has gone so far as to declare it will make 4Matic, its version of the traction-enhancing technology, standard on virtually all of its AMG models going forward.

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All-wheel-drive offers potentially significant benefits in the sports car segment where it can be a challenge for a manufacturer to ensure power gets to the wheels at launch, while enhancing stability and grip in corners.

The F-Type R Coupe certainly has the muscle, at 550-horsepower. The AWD model will trim the 2-seater’s 0 to 60 launch time a tenth of a second, down to 3.9 seconds, with a top speed of 186 mph.

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Jaguar turned to Richard Noble, a former world land speed record holder, to demonstrate the new AWD system on the Hakseen Pan, a stretch of smooth ground near the South African cape where his team hopes to set a new record next year.

The British maker is waiting until the LA Auto Show to reveal details of the new “instinctive” technology, but its name suggests it will be more than just a basic all-wheel-drive system. At the most basic, AWD shifts power front to back, depending upon where traction is best. But such systems tend to push into corners, requiring more steering effort.

More advanced systems also can shift power left to right, something known as torque vectoring, which actually helps steer the car through a corner. That is almost certainly a part of the Jaguar AWD technology.

What other features Jaguar has in mind for the F-Type also remains to be seen but the maker says the sports car’s line-up will be growing from six to 12 different derivatives by the 2016 model-year.

Meanwhile, it plans to add an array of new technologies to the line-up.

Details will be announced at the LA Auto Show during a news conference featuring Andy Green. The RAF pilot was the first to break the sound barrier on the ground and will pilot the Bloodhound SSC to a hoped-for 1000 mph about a year from now.

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