The Jaguar F-Type might be one of the very few sports cars in history that has an open-top version that pre-empts the hard-top coupe. History dictates as much, with the Jaguar E-Type Roadster and E-Type Coupe that came before decades earlier, and two cars that couldn’t have been more different were spawned.
Fast forward to the 21st century and the Jaguar F-Type Coupe is drawing nearer to its production debut. Will it be as healthily received as the drop-top roadster? Time will only tell but Jaguar has teased the F-Type Coupe ahead of its official debut that will take place at the Los Angeles Motor Show and then shortly thereafter, across the Pacific, at the Tokyo Motor Show.
We’ve lead this story with the Jaguar F-Type Coupe teaser image (above) but we’ve also included Jaguar C-X16 Coupe Concept images from 2011 (is it that long ago) to show you the F-Type’s concept-drawing-for-the-road styling isn’t going to be far different come its official debut before the end of the year. Aside from the large panoramic glass roof it looks almost totally identical.
Spied and leaked images have kept us titillated, but even Jaguar says the F-Type Coupe will be the ‘most dynamically capable and performance-focused production Jaguar ever. We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to the F-Type Roadster, but the purity of creating a sports coupe is satisfying both visually and dynamically.’
As expected, the Jaguar F-Type Coupe’s mechanical setup will mirror the Roadster, with powerful 250 kW, supercharged 280 kW V6 S, and 365 kW V8 S engines joining the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission in putting that power onto the ground via the rear wheels. The extra dynamism and rigidity of the all-aluminium F-Type Coupe will no doubt heighten the driving experience even further.
Expect it to go on sale in the second half of 2014 in South Africa.
