Ever since the groundbreaking XK120 hit the roads in 1948, Jaguar has always been renowned for making sleek, front-engined sports cars that more-or-less top the range. The E-Type for instance was a huge hit: it defined what the Brits were capable of and the Series 1 at least put Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin in their place.
It was an instant hit in 1961, but once 1975 rolled around, British Leyland had decided that the Series 3 should be replaced by the rather controversial XJS. Many were disappointed at the time, but 40 years later, we love it.
The trend hasn’t always been true though, they also churned out something called the XJR-15 in the early ’90s — which was effectively a re-bodied XJR-9 Le Mans car! Then along came the XJ220; that held the fastest production car record… for around 2 seconds before the works of Bugatti and McLaren stole its crown.
Who doesn’t love this thing?
I am getting a little bit carried away with the historical side of things, but it is important to stress that Jag has always had a front-engined GT in their range; all the way up to today with the well-respected F-Type. The SVR version costs £110,000 and gets from 0–60 in 3 and a half seconds — that is some serious poke, yet Jaguar it seems, will go further.
By 2022, their new aim is to create a mid-engined sports car to rival the likes of the McLaren 570S and the Audi R8. It is possible (according to Auto Express) that it could even be called the ‘J-Type’.
Call me a traditionalist, but I am not sure if that is a good naming strategy. They’re eventually going to run out of letters! But that is my opinion, let us not turn this into a complaint letter ;)
Could be nice if they put the CX-75’s design into production.
But it is not just the engine layout that Jaguar are aiming for, it is also the use of hybrid technology. This is according to engineers working on the project — who are adamant that whatever powers this new ‘J-Type’, it’ll be coupled to electric motors. I’d guess a similar layout to the Honda NSX.
What engine will be in the mix somewhere? I (and every outsider) has absolutely no idea. But it is possible that a 6-cylinder could happen, but it is probably unlikely that the lovely 5.0 litre V8 will soldier on.
Why? Because it is also apparent that the new platform will be flexible to accommodate a fully electric version. And Jaguar are keeping a close eye on the Porsche Taycan, as they’re also aiming to make a competitor for that.
The car is also allegedly going to make around 550bhp and have similar performance figures to McLaren and Porsche.
This all seems like a drastic change for Jaguar — and I am sure we’re very curious to see what it’ll turn out to be. But if you are a Jag traditionalist, do not be too worried!
Because in October last year, Ian Callum himself has said that he wants to bring back the XK as a redesigned 2+2 coupe to sit somewhere in the range. He was frustrated by it when the last one was axed in 2014 due to low sales, but as there could be a secret new one in the works, who knows?
Nonetheless, what do you think of Jaguar working on a mid-engined sportscar? Do you support or hate the idea of it? Get yourself in the comments!
Hope you enjoyed this short article, and all credit goes to Auto Express magazine for scooping up the news! https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/jaguar/f-type/104481/new-mid-engined-2022-jaguar-f-type-to-rival-mclaren
Thank you for reading :)
Read more posts by Aaron Hussain in The Perfect Roads on DriveTribe the new website by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
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