As they assure that “there will be a future for the F-Type.”
Jaguar has reassured observers & fans alike that their characterful and impressive F-Type sports car will be followed up with another generation, despite the general decline in interest in sports cars and the like. That new F-Type isn’t due for another couple of years, meaning that the F will be 8-years old by the time it’s retired. A long while for a passenger car sure, but about appropriate for a niche product.
“Being a specialist car, [the F-Type] will have a longer life than the mainstream models. [But] despite sports cars not being a great growth area, there will be a future for the F-Type.” — Ian Callum, Design Director, Jaguar
The F-Type having a longer lifecycle is no surprise, but it’s the rumours surrounding the hitherto-undetailed new model that piques our interest. As the F-Type will be a specialist vehicle, it’s rumoured that Jaguar may call their German friends at BMW and politely ask if they can have their 4.4-litre V8. It’s also rumoured, with the same degree of intensity we might add, that the new F-Type might not have an engine at all and go for a pair of electric motors instead.
This might come as a shock to you and while it’s certainly a bit of a surprise for us, we’re not exactly floored. It’s been rumoured (and backed up by intentionally-vague comments by management) that the new Jaguar XJ limousine will return as an all-electric proposition, and the F-Type is much the same in terms of its appeal and marketability. As such, the risks involved by turning it all-electric are broadly similar, and there are (reportedly) benefits to forgoing combustion.
The F-EV (as we’re calling it now) would allow for the batteries to be packed under the floor, achieving the low centre of gravity that all sports cars should rightfully have. Further, liberating the nose of having to house a large engine (and replacing it with a smaller, lither electric motor) would then allow designers to really go to town, achieving perhaps a design as bold and forward-thinking as the original E-Type back in 1961.
It won’t be taking the powertrain out of the I-Pace electric SUV if that’s what you’re wondering, or at least not wholesale. UK rag Autocar says that because of the rate of development in the battery segment, we should expect to see more potent batteries by 2021 and by extension, more powerful electric motors. That means that an F-EV would be about as powerful, if not more so, than a flagship Porsche 911.
If this proves to be true, we’re sure that more details will leak in the next couple of years ahead of the F-Type EV’s debut. So be sure to stay tuned to CarShowroom as we bring you updates as they come.
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