This is the first picture of Jaguar’s new F-type coupe, which will be revealed in full at the Los Angeles motor show. Seen testing in the UK earlier in 2013, the new Porsche 911 rival will be powered by the same range of supercharged engines as the lairy soft-top.
Can we tell anything new about the Jaguar F-type coupe from this shot?
Apart from the (likely optional) glass roof and worryingly narrow boot aperture, the F-type coupe looks all but identical to the pretty C-X16 concept that first previewed the F-type back in 2011. Unlike the larger Jaguar XK, which squeezes a tiny pair of rear seats into the cabin, the F-type coupe is expected to retain its soft-top stablemate’s strict two-seater cabin layout.
Is everything else carried over from the soft-top F-type?
Confirmation will come later this month, but it’s almost certain that Jaguar will retain the two supercharged 3.0-litre V6 engines (336bhp and 375bhp), plus a storming 488bhp supercharged 5.0-litre V8 in the F-type S. With the coupe’s lighter, stiffer body free of the cabrio’s structural limitations, this is set to be the most driver-focused Jaguar ever.
>> Click here to read CAR’s Jaguar F-type vs Porsche 911 vs Audi R8 giant test
Surely there’s room for a hotter F-type?
Jaguar teased us with the idea of a flagship F-type R back in July 2013 with the bespoke Project 7 concept. Packing an uprated 542bhp V8 engine from the XKR-S and XFR-S, the Project 7 is capable of 0-62mph in 4.1sec – that’s 0.2sec faster than an F-type V8 S.
It’s not too far a stretch of the imagination to see that very powerplant making its way into the F-type coupe’s vented nose soon. We’ll find out more at the LA motor show later this month.
>> Is the F-type coupe the car Jaguar’s sporty halo car should’ve been all along? Add your comments below