Did you know that Jaguar wasn’t always “Jaguar”? It began life in the early 1920s building sidecars for motorcycles and then, in the 1930s, it began building cars, like the “SS 90” and “SS 100”. However, the company’s “SS ” designations didn’t set well after World War II so “Jaguar” was born. It lasted as a mostly-independent company until 1968, when it was merged with British Motor Corporation and then, in 1990 acquired by Ford. In 2008, Jaguar was purchased by Tata Motors, a company in India known for very inexpensive cars. Purists were worried. They needn’t have been.
Since the Tata reign started, Jaguar has produced a bevy of beauties, each meeting with commercial and critical success. They created their XJ, XS and XJ cars and, for those for whom speed and power were paramount, they offered the ones with the “R” designations, which were the models’ steroidal cousins. When that wasn’t enough, the “S” variant was added to the “X” and “R” designations (for example, “XK-RS ”) for those who like their cats with 500 horses.
But cars do not sell on power alone. So based on the raves which greeted the stunning Jaguar concept “C-X16” at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Jaguar decided to build the F-Type which, as you may have guessed, is the successor to the E-Type throne. That’s one big chair to fill.
Jaguar’s E-Types were built from 1961 and 1974 and today command high prices for their advanced design and collectability. Cars which initially sold new for as little as $3,000 (about half the price of contemporary Aston Martins) now often sell for well over $100,000 and special models with unique provenance can sell for many times more.
So let’s look at the F-Type, which is due at dealerships sometime in June. It currently is offered only as a two-seat roadster (the coupe is slated for 2014) and it’s available with three engine variants – fast, faster and lickety-split (in power terms, that’s 340, 380 and 495HP for the F-Type, the F-Type S and the F-Type V8 S, ranging from a base price of $69,000 up to a base of $92,000). When you go on Jaguar’s Website (www.jaguarusa.com), you can configure your own (“mine” penciled out at $102,000 but, then again, I’m a sucker for trick brakes and killer rims).
Given that it’s a successor to the E-Type, who better to ask for a comparison than Ken Gorin, head of The Collection in Coral Gables, Florida. Why Ken? Well, he’s a car guy, selling Audis, Porsches, Ferraris, Maseratis, McLarens, Aston Martins and, oh yeah, Jaguars. Asking him which he prefers is like asking someone which is his favorite child but here’s a clue –Ken has owned a 1974 British-racing-green E-Type Jaguar for years and speaks of it lovingly. He drives it regularly, not only to work but also to and from his various civic and philanthropic events. He speaks lovingly about the F-Type, too – “The F-Type is a gamechanger”. “Everyone will want one!” Ken was chairman of Jag’s US Dealer’s Council and had questions like others did when he heard that Tata Motors was going to be the new owner. But the cars still are built in England and, Ken says, “They’ve done a brilliant job of letting Jaguar be Jaguar”.
All F-Types have an eight-speed automatic (with both a floor lever and paddle shifters) connected to the supercharged six- or supercharged eight-cylinder front-mounted engine of your choice powering the rear wheels. As you’d expect, there are lots of driveradjusted settings for the pilot to play with. The strongest cat can hit sixty in a reported 4.2 seconds and race to a top speed of 186MPH. The bodies (all three variants looks much the same) are about the same length as a Porsche 911 but with a much longer wheelbase and with lots of aluminum. Weighing in at about 3,500 pounds, it’s not the lightest feline ever, about 500 pounds heavier than the aforementioned 911.
You can’t talk about a Jaguar without mentioning its looks. Just as the E-Type was sinewy- lean, the F-Type clearly is its relative, feline haunches and all. Jaguar design chief Ian Callum had his work cut out for him as the E-Type reputedly was described by Enzo Ferrari himself as “the most beautiful car ever made” but he was up to the task. Translating the sculptural lines from the concept C-X16 to a buildable and roadable car was challenging but, after having been involved with the design of some of Aston Martin’s most gorgeous cars, Callum said that he’d waited fifty years for this opportunity and he knew just what to do, which is apparent from the finished product.
The renowned Dr. Albert Schweitzer once said that the only escape from the “miseries of life” are music and cats. I didn’t even know that Dr. Al was a car guy.