Jaguar F-Type: first images, new name confirmed

Britain’s Indian-owned sports-luxury brand confirmed at today’s 2012 New York motor show that it would give the sports car a name that makes it a natural successor to the famous 1960s E-Type.

The Jaguar F-Type will roll into Australian showrooms in mid 2013 after it makes its production debut – as a convertible - later this year, likely at the 2012 Paris motor show in September. A coupe will follow a year after the F-Type convertible goes on sale.

Expect the production model to be more faithful to the C-X16 rather than the Jaguar F-Type concept the company showed all the way back in 2000.

"We showed the C-X16 concept in September 2011, and the reaction to it has been so positive that we've accelerated our development of an all-new Jaguar sports car,” said Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar’s global brand director.

Jaguar says the two-seater sports car will be constructed using its expertise in lightweight aluminium and will “deliver stunning sports car performance” with a range of petrol engines that will include new powerplants.

A hybrid drivetrain, as showcased in the Jaguar C-X16 concept, is also anticipated down the track.

The Jaguar F-Type has moved into its final stages of on-road testing, and the car maker has released several images of camouflaged engineering prototypes in the studio and on the track.

Jaguar's design boss, Ian Callum, promised the new F-Type would live up to its fabled forefathers.

"A true sports car needs to be pure in both its purpose and its form; to have the opportunity to produce such a car for Jaguar has been a privilege both for myself and for my team," said Callum. "The C-type, D-type and E-type Jaguars were all sports cars that held true to this principle in their era, and the F-Type will hold true to that same principle in its time, a time that is soon to arrive."

The F-Type will be smaller than, and positioned below, the XK coupe/convertible that starts at $219,000. Jaguar is expected to place the F-Type coupe and drop-top between Porsche's Boxster/Cayman twins and 911, so we can only speculate that the Jaguar could be priced from anywhere between $120,000 and $150,000 for the convertible.

Jaguar has ambitious new-product plans under owner Tata Motors. The company told CarAdvice at March's Geneva motor show that a crossover-style vehicle was among the new models it was considering, though it ruled out the long-rumoured SUV.