2012 Jaguar F-Type
Ratan Tata, the soft-spoken urbane boss of the Indian giant conglomerate that has acquired Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 billion, decided to launch a new sports car.
A new, smaller sports car along the lines of the F-Type now seems to be set to arrive, perhaps as soon as 2012. Unlike the concept that looked like a smaller version of the previous generation XK, the production roadster is likely to take cues from new Jags, including the recently launched XF and the upcoming XJ.
For Jaguar fans, the one car that has been missing from the lineup for far too long is a direct replacement for the legendary E-Type. While Jaguar tried to compete on volume with Mercedes and BMW by producing cars like the S-Type and X-Type, concepts like the 2000 F-Type were forgotten. In 2000 Jaguar unveiled an F-Type concept at that year’s Detroit show to much acclaim. Its curves and retro machine-turned fascia drew a lot of admiration, but it was ditched in favor of more mainstream products.
Now that Jaguar is under new management from the sub-continent, it seems that the F-Type might just be resurrected.
According to autoblog.com, power is expected to be provided by a variant of the current 3.0-liter Duratec, and while a turbocharged, direct-injected V6 variant of Ford’s EcoBoost might not be out the question, it remains highly unlikely.
Road & Track magazine believes the easiest and cheapest way of getting the F-Type project off the ground is to use a shortened and narrowed XF floor pan (otherwise known as the Ford DEW98) to create the base for the two-door coupe, while using the same aluminum suspension links from the XK to give the F-Type some sporting DNA.
However, maybe the future F-Type will be simply a slimmer version of the XK. Instead, take the E-Type, morph it into the radical C-XF concept and XF production car and then develop those themes to become the F-Type. In terms of styling, not much is known beyond the number of doors it’ll have and the fact that it will most likely be offered in both coupe and cabriolet form. Still, you can forget the Wolfgang Reitzle-inspired retro look that gave us the S-Type and current XJ.
Another question would be the name. Now that Jaguar has a pattern with XF, XK and XJ, it seems unlikely the new roadster will get badge as an F-Type. It’s possible to be named XD but still, this is just a rumor.