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Jaguar has launched a four-cylinder version of the F-Type sports car at the New York motor show, featuring a 300hp 2.0-litre turbo engine.
The engine is a development of the 250hp unit already available in the XF and XE, and features cully variable valve timing, which Jaguar says eliminates the traditional 'pumping losses' associated with engine throttle, and which helps save fuel. Certainly, this will be the most frugal F-Type yet - Jaguar claims a 16 per cent improvement in economy compared to the V6 petrol engine to 7.2-litres per 100km (39mpg), and Co2 emissions fall to a much-more reasonable 163g/km.
Performance has not been forgotten, though. With that 300hp, Jaguar claims a maximum speed of 250kmh, with a 0-100kmh time of less than six seconds. The four-cylinder engine will come only with the eight-speed automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive.
"Introducing our advanced four-cylinder engine to F-TYPE has created a vehicle with its own distinct character. Performance from an engine of this size is remarkable and is balanced with improved fuel efficiency and affordability, making the F-TYPE experience more accessible than ever before" said Ian Hoban, Vehicle Line Director, Jaguar F-Type.
The new engine means that the weight of the F-Type has gone down by 52kg, and most of that is taken out of the nose, which means that for the first time the car now has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution. This has lead Jaguar engineers to claim that, on particularly tight roads, this can give the four-pot model an advantage over ifs V6 and V8-engined siblings. Until you hit the next straight, of course...
"Most of the weight reduction is over the front axle, making the car beautifully balanced and really agile to drive - as you'd expect, the car is really at home on beautiful twisty roads. Couple that with a four-cylinder exhaust note and this particular F-Type has a character all of its own. I like to think of it as the feisty younger brother of the V6 and V8 models" said Erol Mustafa, Chief Product Engineer, Jaguar Sports Cars.