Under a dark red cloth lay the most anticipated guest of the afternoon. Straight from the airport, Jaguar rolled out its all-new F-Type sports car. It took more than fifty years, but the leaping cat now has a proper successor to the E-Type, still at the top of many lists of “most beautiful cars.”
Thankfully, Ian Callum’s design team did not attempt to produce an updated version of the E-Type, or resort to a retro design. The F-Type features modern, taut lines, with a clean profile. The stretched headlamps accentuate the classically long hood, while the rear fenders playfully roll upward. Appropriately, the F-Type is a convertible, with a soft top that serves as its own tonneau cover.
The F-type will be available with V6 power, a supercharged 3.0-liter dishing out 340 hp. The one to go for is the supercharged 5.0 V8, with 495 hp. In the confines of a Formula One pit garage in Sepang, the F gave us a spine-tingling demonstration of its baritone grow. There’s no doubt when you see it: the F-Type is Jaguar’s body and soul, rendered in aluminum.