JAGUAR F-TYPE ROADSTER DETAILED

Now that Jaguar has unveiled the F-Type Roadster to a VIP audience at Musée Rodin, Paris, just before the 2012 Paris International Motor Show, we can share some of its more intimate details. The F-Type is Jaguar’s smallest sports car yet and is aimed at unsettling the Porsche 911 range.

So, here’s what we know. The car uses its rear wheels to pull forward, while the engines will be housed up at the front under the bonnet. It’s constructed out of lightweight aluminium in order to minimise weight and maximise performance. This is very good news. Other cool pieces of tech are the deployable/ retractable door handles, as well as the rear spoiler.

As you can see from the pics, the interior features only seating space for two, hence the “roadster” description. The dashboard area is slightly angled towards the driver, while the use of some high quality materials like nappa leather and brushed alloys covers both comfort and sport signatures.

We’ve touched on the engines before, but it doesn’t hurt to touch again. In fact, it excites. There will be three models on offer; F-Type, F-Type S and F-Type V8 S. Entry-level F-Type shall wield 250kW from its 3.0-litre V6 supercharged petrol engine and be capable of a 5.1 second sprint time. The F-Type S, through very same powerplant, will pull out 280kW and apparently do 0 – 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. At the top end of things sits the F-Type V8 S with 364kW from a 5.0-litre V8 supercharged, presumably the same one from the likes of XFR and XKR but obviously detuned. We understand it is capable of hurling the range-topper from 0 – 100km/h in a mere 4.2 seconds, with a top speed of 300km/h.

Jaguar fans in South Africa will be able to enjoy the new F-Type when it lands here during the third or fourth quarter of 2013.