2014 Jaguar F-Type Preview: 2012 LA Auto Show

The 2014 Jaguar F-Type is the first 2-seat Jaguar since the iconic E-Type, a new sports car that represents the pivot point for the next generation of Jaguars in terms of design and driving dynamics. We went to Milk Studios in Los Angeles to see the new 2014 F-Type up close and personal, and to get details about its styling and engineering straight from the people responsible for the new car.

What’s New for the 2014 Jaguar F-Type:

• Rear-wheel-drive, 2-seat roadster
• Three supercharged engine choices
• Power ratings from 340 to 495 horsepower
• 4.2 seconds to 60 mph for V8 S model
• 186-mph top speed for V8 S model
• Base price under $70,000
• On sale in summer of 2013

New 2014 Jaguar F-Type: Styling and Design

Ian Callum, Director of Design for Jaguar, said during the F-Type’s unveiling in Los Angeles: “There is no room for being demure or apologetic in this country. I’ve learned that.”

And so the new 2014 F-Type is neither demure nor apologetic, a 2-seat sports car that picks up where the legendary E-Type left off back in 1974, but without resorting to the retro design themes that have characterized Jaguars until recently. In the F-Type’s design there are what Callum refers to as “classical solutions,” such as the “relay line” that picks up the sweeping front fender line and carries it over the rear fenders where it dips into the trunk. Callum also points to the F-Type’s thin, horizontal taillights as inspired by the E-Type. But it’s clear that the F-Type looks forward, not back.

During the presentation to a selected group of journalists, Callum talked about how future Jaguars will stick to two fundamental guiding principles:

1.)  Because Jaguar is, according to Callum, about design, the company must sweat the design details, right down to the last millimeter.

2.)  A Jaguar’s skin must be wrapped as tightly as possible around the mechanicals.

Several times, Callum also referred to the new F-Type’s “beauty of line, spontaneity of line, purity of line, and purity of surface.” To that end, the car is equipped with a single-piece clamshell hood, hidden door handles that deploy when required and tuck flush against the car’s surface when they’re not, and an active rear spoiler that rises at 60 mph and drops down when the F-Type slows to below 40 mph. The F-Type’s center air vents even rise out of the dashboard only when they are necessary.

New 2014 Jaguar F-Type: What’s Under the Hood

Russ Varney, the Jaguar F-Type’s program engineer, joined Jaguar in 1973, just before the E-Type went out of production. Varney said he has waited his entire career for the F-Type project, and called the new sports car the “most dynamically rewarding Jaguar ever.”

In engineering the 2014 F-Type, Varney cited three goals for Jaguar’s sports car: precision, immediacy of response, and a great soundtrack.

It is clear in listening to both Callum and Varney – and the F-Type itself – that Jaguar sweated the details when it came to this sports car’s exhaust system. First, the V-6 models are differentiated from the V-8 models by design: The former employ a center-outlet exhaust on models with a V-6 engine, while the latter have quad exhaust outlets, two on each side of the car.

Additionally, even the standard 340-horsepower, supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 is designed to impress with what Varney characterized as an exhaust note representing “an authentic crescendo.” Engineers purposely built in plenty of what I’d call snap, crackle, and pop when the driver releases the accelerator pedal.

There’s no shortage of performance in the three engine choices. According to Jaguar, the standard F-Type accelerates to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds on its way to a top speed of 161 mph. The 380-horsepower F-Type S shaves the acceleration run to 4.8 seconds and adds 10 extra mph of maximum velocity. The F-Type V8 S, thanks to its supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 and 495 horsepower hits 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and achieves a top speed of 186 mph.

New 2014 Jaguar F-Type: Features and Technology

Of course, the new Jaguar F-Type can be optioned with the latest information and entertainment technologies, so we’ll focus on the elements that ensure the F-Type will be taken seriously as a sports car.

According to Varney, “Steering feel is the most important primary control for a sports car,” but he acknowledges that not all Jaguar F-Type customers will want a sport-tuned feel all of the time. Because the F-Type employs electric steering and offers an available electronic damping suspension, engineers are able to provide customers with Configurable Dynamics technology that allows the driver to specify steering calibration in addition to throttle response and suspension settings.

Three different braking systems are offered for the new F-Type. The standard model has Jaguar Performance brakes. The F-Type S gets Jaguar High Performance brakes. And the F-Type V8 S is equipped with Jaguar Super High performance brakes. All F-Types have an 8-speed “Quickshift” adaptive-shift automatic transmission with downshift rev matching, Corner Recognition technology, and manual F1-style shifting via paddle shifters or the gear selector. Additional performance hardware includes an available Dynamic Launch Mode and, for the V8 S model, an active rear differential.

New 2014 Jaguar F-Type: What Autobytel Thinks

The new Jaguar F-Type is beautiful, and based on its specification sheet the car holds significant dynamic promise. Jaguar’s Varney called it the new emotional center for the brand, and we’re looking forward to not only driving this new F-Type but also seeing where the company is headed next.