Jaguar F-Type Review
Car Tested: 2013 Jaguar F-Type
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 1.776 crore (V6 S), Rs. 2.086 crore (V8 S)
The Jaguar F-Type is a sports car with massive emotional appeal and an exhaust note which truly thrills the aural senses.
Jaguar has been making sports car even before the company was called Jaguar. Circa 1960, Jaguar launched a vehicle which went and became a design icon, winning several awards for being the world’s most beautiful car, time and again. The design of the Jaguar E-Type is timeless, it looks marvellous even today. Enzo Ferrari had called the E-Type the most beautiful car ever made and we can’t help but agree with him. So it definitely wasn’t easy for Jaguar to design the E-Type’s successor, the F-Type. Launched 39 years after the production of the E-Type stopped, the current F-Type is not Jaguar’s first attempt.
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In 1980, Jaguar started work on the F-Type (codenamed XJ41) which was underpinned by the XJ40 sedan. It was expected to go into production in 1986 but several complications (mostly increase in weight and deviation from the original concept) led to the delay. By the time Jaguar was ready to put the F-Type into production, the vehicle had gained 300 kgs in weight and then Ford bought the British company and cancelled the project. However Ian Callum placed this F-Type on an XJS platform and the Aston Martin DB7 was conceived. Later in the year 2000, Jaguar unveiled the F-Type Concept but that too didn’t make it to production. Enough for the history lesson, the 2013 F-Type (X152) is a 2-seater sports car which shows what Jaguar is really capable of, producing an impressive sports car which stays true to the company’s rich history of design and speed, seen in the C, D and E-Type. We went all the way to the country of the bulls to drive this wild cat.
Exteriors – The Jaguar F-Type is based on the C-X16 Concept, which was showcased in 2011. The styling of the F-Type is stunning and the vehicle displays even more visual drama in the flesh. There are some E-Type cues in the design but Jaguar has gone the long haul by completely designing the F-Type from scratch. The result is a vehicle which looks fast even while standing still. The front features a pair of vertically stacked headlights which feature bi-xenon projector technology along with a L-shaped day time running light. The large, almost rectangular grille adorns the most part of the front, with a chrome lining amplifying the aggressive stance. Two sets of air intakes are placed right next to the grille and the low yet wide body gives the vehicle immense presence.
The side profile reveals the classic long hood and short rear proportions which is typical of a modern sports car. The size of the wheels depend on the variant (18-inch on the V6, 19-inch on the V6 S and 20-inch on the V8 S) and you can choose between 6 options, all of them are extremely sporty and attractive. A small crease runs to the door from the lower side of the clamshell bonnet, met by an air intake with chrome surrounds on either sides.
One of the party pieces of the F-Type are the door handles, which remain closed till you open the vehicle. This helps the F-Type to remain extremely aerodynamic. Jaguar likes to call this mechanism a mechanical handshake.
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The F-Type is such a ravishing design that it’s hard to decide which angle yields the most eye pops. However the rear design is absolutely the most delightful part of the F-Type. The well tapered rear features narrow tail lights, which take you back to the E-Type, maybe a deja vu. The design is minimalistic yet so evoking and reveals the sporty stance of the vehicle, with the massive tyres clearly visible. Twin exhaust pipes are placed in the centre on the V6 models, while the V8 has quad pipes (two on each side). The rear design might seem to lack aerodynamic flare but an active rear spoiler deploys at speed, thereby keeping the car’s clean lines firmly intact. Jaguar has really got the styling spot on, the F-Type really looks menacing. Our drive around Spain was testimony to the design highlights of the F-Type, people turned around and gawked, their eyes showed nothing but delight.
The F-Type’s styling is very well executed. Jaguar has made a car which not only looks the part, but also fits into the company’s legacy of sports car design seen almost 60 years back.
Head over to the next page to read about the interiors of the Jaguar F-Type.
