It seems Jaguar is open to expanding their F-Type sports car to a broader audience across a wider scope of prices, as evidenced by a recent spy photo that was traced back via its number plate to having a 2.0-litre diesel engine.
The test car, discovered by Autocar UK, has been found to have been in existence all the way since April 2016. The fact that Jaguar is still taking the car out for drives or transporting it under its own steam between test facilities indicate that development is still ongoing 7 months later, after earlier rumours the project had been suspended.
It was spotted close to Jaguar’s Coventry headquarters, near Royal Leamington Spa, where JLR’s chief engineer Mike Cross was seen behind the wheel. The automaker has been bullish about its Ingenium line of engines, and given the right tune, light weight, and vehicle calibration could prove to be a sporting drive in spite of its unexciting powertrain credentials. Shoving the four-cylinder into an F-Type could be the most pivotal test of its potential.
It seems very likely that the emergence of an F-Type powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine would also mean the rise of petrol counterpart. Should Jaguar be able to extract close to 223kW or thereabouts from either, coupled with the strong torque from the Ingenium diesel, buyers should flock to the less expensive but still rapid F-Type if it breaks cover in facelifted form next year with these smaller, more-efficient engine options.
Porsche has recently introduced the 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman which abandons their six-cylinder motors altogether for a pair of turbocharged flat-fours. Though they come with their share of advocates and detractors, the new entry-level Porsche sports cars are just as performative as their predecessors, albeit perhaps not as sonorous.
Clearly the majority of automakers are on-board with introducing smaller four-pots into arenas dominated by either six or eight-cylinder engines. The most polarising announcement came when Ford tempered the Mustang GT and its 5.0-litre V8 with the prospect of a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost. It took some getting used to, but the world adapted and more Mustangs are made accessible to more people. The F-Type might be next.
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