Jaguar cooked up something different in debuting the 2021 F-Type sports car. The new F-Type took a quick tour of the Jaguar Design Studio on a custom-designed 232-meter track, albeit as a 1:64 scale model created by Hot Wheels.
Along the way, the Jaguar Hot Wheels F-Type conquered 44 corners, 25 loop-the-loops, and three perilous jumps. “As a designer and huge car enthusiast, Hot Wheels models have been a part of my life since childhood,” said Julian Thompson, Jaguar Design Director. “They capture the imagination, making owning the car of your dreams a reality, and give you the first opportunity to actually drive the car.”
The new Jaguar F-Type is as gorgeous as ever
Few sports cars have a rightful claim to beauty as the new F-Type, a car that pays homage to the iconic E-Type of the 1960s. First launched in 2012, the F-Type made quite an impact with its focused driving dynamics and talkative exhaust.
In fact, that popping and cracking sound of the standard active exhaust system was retained in the new F-Type. But before you get enamored by the engine and exhaust sound, it’s the way the new F-Type looks that will really get you going.
Since taking the reins from long-time Jaguar design director Ian Callum earlier this year, Julian Thompson’s first job is to redesign the F-Type. “The new F-Type embodies true Jaguar design DNA,” said Thompson. “The challenge we set ourselves is to design the most beautiful sports car, with the purity, proportion, and presence that’s unmistakably Jaguar.”
Without a doubt, the new F-Type is now more focused and more aggressive. Gone is the friendlier fascia in place of a rigid stare. There are new super-slim LED headlights with updated ‘Calligraphy’ signature J daytime running lights, which are purposely designed to give the vehicle a wider stance.
The new clamshell hood has what Jaguar calls ‘liquid metal’ surfacing along with new front and rear bumpers and a larger front grille. The rear LED taillights are also slimmer and feature ‘Chicane’ lighting signatures lifted from the electric I-PACE SUV.
All in all, the 2021 Jaguar F-Type is a more focused animal compared to the outgoing model.
It also has a revised interior
The cabin is now home to better materials for a more premium yet sporting feel. Standard in all F-Type models is a 12-inch reconfigurable HD TFT instrument display with bespoke graphics. Apple Car Play and Android Auto are also standard while the 10-inch infotainment screen comes with three rotary controllers to merge old-school with the new.
And with over-the-air software updates, the new F-Type can install critical software updates without taking the car to the dealership.
The new Jaguar F-Type features either Sport or Performance seats depending on the trim model. Touch surfaces consist of premium Windsor leather, suede, and chrome. The seats and door trims have monogram stitching for a classier feel.
“A Jaguar interior should always look and feel special, and none more so than a sports car, and that’s why we’ve focused our attention on beautiful details and refining still further the choice of rich materials and finishes, and adding to the sense of theatre that F-TYPE has always possessed,” said Alister Whelan, Interior Design Director of the F-Type.
Choose from a lineup of four, six, and eight-cylinder engines
The base F-Type is equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-banger generating 296-horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, the latter which arrives from as low as 1,500 rpm. While the V6 and V8 are better suited to the sporting character of the F-Type, the four-cylinder engine is quite a sleeper. It shoves the F-Type to 60 mph in 5.4-seconds and a top speed of 155 mph.
Meanwhile, the F-Type is also available with a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 engine with 380-horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque. All F-Type V6 models receive an all-wheel drivetrain and a standard limited-slip differential with torque vectoring for sportier handling.
The crème of the crop is the F-Type R with a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 motor. It now produces 575-horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 25 horsepower and around 14 torques than the previous V8. With this engine, the F-Type scampers to 60 mph in 3.5-seconds while top speed is rated at 186mph. The V8 also comes with a ‘quiet mode’ exhaust feature so as not to disturb your neighbors when starting the car.
No, you can’t have a manual F-Type
Instead, all models of the F-Type are only available with an eight-speed Quickshift automatic gearbox with full manual control capabilities. You can manually shift gears by either fiddling with the gear selector or the steering-mounted paddle shifters.
Jaguar has yet to reveal pricing and other specs for the 2021 Jaguar F-Type. However, we’re expecting base prices to creep a bit higher than the previous F-Type’s $61,000 base price.
