Jaguar has revealed its anticipated four-cylinder F-Type, debuting as the new entry engine in the recently updated Coupe and Convertible lines.
The new engine option will come to Australia in the fourth quarter of 2017, available in basic F-Type and up-spec R-Dynamic grades for both body styles.
Full pricing is still to be revealed, but if you’d been hoping for a sub-$100k figure, you’re out of luck: Jaguar has confirmed a $107,300 starting point, before on-road costs.
Although still a hefty sum, that number cuts just over $12,000 from the price of entry into the current range, which begins with the 250kW/450Nm supercharged six-cylinder F-Type.
Now, to the details.
No surprise, given the state of the four-cylinder performance market these days, the F-Type‘s smallest new engine is no slouch. Indeed, this newest turbocharged petrol member of the Ingenium engine family is the most powerful four-pot engine Jaguar has ever offered.
Revealed in September last year, the new petrol engine debuted in 147kW and 184kW forms earlier this year for the XE, XF and F-Pace lines.
For the F-Type, Jaguar has rightly turned the wick up, the twin-scroll single-turbo and direct-injected engine producing 221kW and 400Nm to deliver a claimed 0-100km/h time of 5.7 seconds. Maximum speed is listed at 249km/h.
Power is sent to the rear wheels through a ZF-sourced eight-speed ‘Quickshift’ torque-converter auto. Yes, the four-pot joins the V8 in skipping the option of a manual transmission, again leaving rowers with a V6-only menu.
Fuel consumption is a relatively low 7.2L/100km on the European combined cycle, with emissions listed at 163g/km. Australia-specific numbers are still to come.
“Not only is this the most powerful four-cylinder ever offered in a production Jaguar, it also develops the highest specific power and torque ratings of any engine in the F-Type range. It’s a natural fit for a Jaguar sports car,” says Ron Lee, powertrain chief at Jaguar Land Rover.
Adopting a four-cylinder engine makes this variant of the F-Type some 52kg lighter than the V6 model, which starts at 1567kg – depending on specification. As a result, and for those who value the finer details, the change in weight distribution sees balance move one percentage point to the rear. Jaguar claims an already dreamy 50:50 split for the V6, so the change could be tricky to detect. (We’ll give it a proper go, obviously.)
Along with the requisite chassis tune, the four-cylinder F-Type models get their own 18-inch wheel design, themselves helping to reduce unsprung mass. Of course, as an entry model, there’s also a single tailpipe finisher at the rear, setting it apart from the V6’s twin-central tips and the V8’s quad outboard design.
With the addition of the four-cylinder model, the F-Type range will look like this:
F-TYPE Coupe and Convertible
221kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder; Quickshift RWD
250kW 3.0-litre V6; Quickshift RWD/ manual RWD
280kW 3.0-litre V6; Quickshift; RWD/ AWD, manual RWD
F-TYPE R-Dynamic Coupe and Convertible
221kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder; Quickshift RWD
250kW 3.0-litre V6; Quickshift RWD/ manual RWD
280kW 3.0-litre V6; Quickshift; RWD/ AWD, manual RWD
F-TYPE 400 SPORT Coupe and Convertible
294kW 3.0-litre V6; Quickshift RWD/ AWD
F-TYPE R Coupe and Convertible
404kW 5.0-litre V8; Quickshift AWD
F-TYPE SVR Coupe and Convertible
423kW 5.0-litre V8; Quickshift AWD
Watch for the four-cylinder F-Type model to land in Australia later this year, following an expected second-quarter window for the wider facelifted range.
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