Jaguar Looks to Take Back U.S. Sports-Car Market With F-Type

LOS ANGELES – Andy Goss, president of Jaguar Land Rover North America, says at the auto show here this week that a “modern British invasion” of the North American market will be led by Jaguar’s new F-Type sports car.

“We’re bringing to L.A. some breakthrough new British products, which are going to have an enormous impact here in America,” he tells the media, adding the auto maker’s global sales through the year’s first 10 months climbed 35%, “driven by emerging and mature markets alike.”

First unveiled in Paris earlier this year, the F-Type is a rear-wheel-drive, 2-seat convertible. Molded with aluminum, the model weighs in at about 3,500 lbs. (1,588 kg). It is modeled in the spirit of Jaguar's iconic E-type convertible, which the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph ranked first on its list of the world’s “100 most beautiful cars” of all time.

“I’m sure you’ll agree that this car commands attention wherever it goes,” offers Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar’s global brand director. “Jaguar without a sports car is not Jaguar.”

The F-Type has three engine options. The 340-hp supercharged V-6 produces 332 lb.-ft. (450 Nm) of torque at 3,500-5,500 rpm. The 380-hp version, exclusive to the F-Type, produces 339 lb.-ft. (460 Nm) of torque at 3,500-5,500 rpm, while the V-8 produces 460 lb.-ft. (624 Nm) of torque over the 2,500-5,500 rpm range.

The 340-hp V-6 model can accelerate from 0-60 mph (11 km/h) in 5.1 seconds, the 380-hp S model achieves it in 4.8 seconds and the V8-S can hits the mark from a dead stop in 4.2 seconds.

Electronically limited maximum speeds are 161 mph (260 km/h), 171 mph (275 km/h) and 186 mph (300 km/h), respectively, for the V-6, V6-S and V8-S models.

Hallmark expects the F-Type to go on sale in the U.S. late next spring with a starting price of about $69,000. The F-Type “is the car that puts Jaguar back where we belong, at the heart of the sports-car market,” he says.