It may not look it, but the current Jaguar F-Type is a fairly old design by industry standards. Jag’s sports car is about to enter its sixth model year, so to keep it fresh, designers conducted a little plastic surgery, added new tech, and reshuffled the lineup of F-Type models.
The updated F-Type looks almost the same as the outgoing version, which is not a problem. Rather than try to fix what isn’t broken, designers made subtle changes like adding smaller, rounder air intakes alongside the mouth-like grille, and equipping the F-Type with LED headlights. These headlights have an adaptive function that allows them to switch between four modes: City, Country, Motorway, and Bad Weather.
To help launch the updated F-Type, Jaguar is adding a limited edition 400 Sport version to the lineup for one model year only. It uses the 3.0-liter, supercharged V6 offered in lower-level F-Type models, but tuned to produce 400 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque. The 400 Sport is available as a coupe or convertible with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, but an eight-speed automatic is the only transmission choice.
Alongside the limited edition 400 Sport, Jaguar will continue to offer 340-hp and 380-hp V6 F-Type models. These can now be had with a new R-Dynamic package that adds special exterior trim. Buyers looking for more power can still get the 5.0-liter, supercharged V8 in the 550-hp F-Type R and 575-hp F-Type SVR. As before, all F-Type models are available in coupe and convertible form, with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmissions available, depending on the model.
Notable new tech includes ReRun, which allows GoPro video footage to be overlaid with performance data from the car. The F-Type also gets an updated infotainment system called Touch Pro, with a 4G LTE data connection and some novel navigation features. Commute Mode allows the driver to send location and ETA information to contacts, and Arrival Mode displays a 360-degree view of the destination, including highlighted nearby parking spaces.
The updated Jaguar F-Type goes on sale in the first quarter of this year, and will likely be considered a 2018 model. United States pricing will be released closer to the car’s launch here.
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