MANILA, Philippines – The Jaguar C-Type roamed the asphalt jungle from 1951 to 1953. Its predecessor—the predictable named D-Type—prowled the streets and racetracks from 1954 to 1957.
Then came the immortal E-Type. This icon of a predatory sports car enchanted onlookers and ruled the racing circuits for a seemingly eternal length of time: 1961 until 1974.
Such was the dominance and sheer beauty of the E-Type that it lasted that long. Such, too, was its incomparable accomplishments that it took the legendary carmaker from Coventry almost four decades to come up with a worthy successor.
But that successor is here now. Needless to say, it’s called the F-Type. And it represents no less than the company’s heart: a two-seat, front-engine/rear-wheel-drive convertible sports car focused on performance, agility and driver involvement. This is also a continuation of a sporting bloodline that dates back more than 75 years.
And in a move to keep the Jaguar tradition and commitment to continuous innovation, Jaguar Cars, Inc. (JCI) has unleashed the F-Type at the Jaguar Lifestyle Centre at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
“The ownership of a Jaguar has never been a stronger statement globally. Its performance is all about the aspects of engineering and technological excellence,” said Wellington Soong, Chair and President of Jaguar Cars, Inc. “This is also a tribute to Sir William Lyon’s ‘Poetry in Motion.’”
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The Jaguar F-Type V8 S Petrol combines low vehicle weight (starting at 3,521 pounds, thanks to its aluminum architecture), high-powered supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine (at 495hp and a whopping 625Nm of torque) and superb aerodynamics to achieve a pure sports car experience—yet with Jaguar’s celebrated elegance and luxury. There is also a 3.0-liter V6 variant.
The engine sends power through a 8-speed QuickShift automatic transmission with a center console-mounted SportShift gear selector and steering wheel-mounted paddles for full manual control. A Configurable Dynamics Program allows the driver to tailor a number of dynamic features, including displays for lap time and G-meter functions, to personal taste.
Performance? The F-Type V8 S model rockets from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds and achieves a stunning 300-km/h top speed.
A true two-seat sports car, the all-new Jaguar F-Type is equipped with a modern, lightweight soft top that, when lowered, serves as its own tonneau cover. This not only provides weight efficiency, but also improves packaging and contributes to the car’s low center of gravity for greater sporting agility.
Just like the other members of the Jaguar family, the F-Type has also capitalized on its sinuous, muscular elegance while it adapts to the modern times. The two “heartlines” define the profile and top-down view of the F-type.
The main heartline begins in the blade dissecting the shark-like gills on either side of the grille that runs up and forms the sharp top crease of the fender line, providing sight lines that aid the driver in cornering maneuvers.
The second heartline swells out to form the muscular rear haunch before sweeping dramatically around the rear of the car. With the clean, sleek lines of the tail, a retractable rear spoiler deploys at speed to reduce aerodynamic lift.
The headlights run vertically rather than horizontally, leading the eye up and along the fender crease naturally. Technology has facilitated the design language of the F-Type; the compact xenon unit requires just one projector, while the J-Blade LED running lights further emphasize the design of the heartline running through the lamp.
The grille leans slightly forward to create a suggestion of motion when the car is stationary. The lower edge of the clamshell hood forms the top of the side vent. The mesh in the grille and side vents is a hexagonal design that gives greater form and depth.
The hidden, automatically deploying door handles support the design purity. The handles remain flush with the door panel until activated by either unlocking the car with the key fob or touching a touch-sensitive area of the handle. Their automatic deployment provides a mechanical “handshake,” inviting the driver and passenger to enter. Once the car is moving, the handles retract to leave an uninterrupted aerodynamic surface.
For that sports car touch, the top can be fully raised or lowered in just 12 seconds at a speed of up to 30 mph. Its multi-layer construction includes a Thinsulate lining for optimal thermal and sound-insulating properties. “We wanted the experience of sitting in the F-Type to be exciting. A sports car cockpit should be an intimate place and so we aimed to get a sense of the surfaces falling towards and then wrapping around the driver,” said Ian Callum, Director of Design for Jaguar.
“What we’ve done is given it the essence and spirit of doing what you want to do rather than what’s expected of you. The more processed this world becomes, the more important that is,” he added.
The F-Type is available with two audio systems from premium British audio experts Meridian. These offer either 10 or 12 speakers with outputs of 380 watts and 770 watts, respectively. The Meridian systems benefit from the company’s experience in digital signal processing to create life-like audio reproduction. The top of the range offering also features the Meridian Trifield System, which places both occupants at the center of their own perfectly focused surround sound field.
It’s been a long time coming—39 years, to be exact—but the spectacular new Jaguar F-Type has certainly been worth the wait.
