Jaguar Unveils F-Type Sports Car

The new F-Type sports car from Jaguar offers a choice of three engines, including one that propels the two-seater from zero to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph.

Jaguar Car, a unit of Tata Motors Ltd., publicly unveils the car today at the Paris auto show.

The F-Type is the spiritual successor to the company's iconic E-Type sports car from the 1960s and early 1970s. But the new car closely resembles the thoroughly modern C-X16 concept Jaguar presented at the Frankfurt auto show a year ago.

The base F-Type will be powered by a new 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 engine producing 335 hp. The upmarket S uses a modified version of the same engine that makes 375 hp. The top-end V8 S model is fitted with a 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 that generates 488 hp. All three engines are fitted with an automatic stop-start system that Jaguar says can boost fuel efficiency as much as 5%. The powerplants are revealed beneath the car's E-Type-inspired clamshell hood.

Standard in all models is an eight-speed automatic transmission that can be controlled with a shift lever or steering wheel-mounted paddles. The V-8 system includes launch control. All powertrains include a limited-slip differential (mechanical on the V-6 engine and electronic on the V-8).

Jaguar says its "Quickshift" transmission adjusts its behavior according to acceleration and braking rates, cornering forces, road load and whether the car is moving uphill or downhill. If the gearbox senses an "urgent" driving style, for example, it shifts more aggressively and moves upshifts to a higher rev range. Sensors that detect cornering enable the transmission to hold a gear until the turn is complete.

The F-Type's mostly aluminum chassis has 10% more torsional rigidity than any other Jaguar, including the XKR-S sport coupe, according to the company. The car weighs a relatively svelte 3,500 lbs.

Design features include a hexagonal grille flanked by double "shark gill" openings, door handles that deploy at a touch, roll hoops behind each seatback, center-grouped twin exhaust pipes, low-sloping rear deck and an active rear spoiler than generates as much as 265 lbs of downforce.

The F-Type convertible goes on sale next spring. It will be joined by a coupe version in autumn 2014.