Our friends at Road & Track used their time at the Los Angeles auto show wisely. Sitting down with Ian Callum led to a long chat about Jaguar's future, and the magazine's article makes for a rather interesting read. Buried toward the end of the story is an interesting tidbit about the possible future of the automaker's wonderful F-Type. There's a chance it could move to a mid-engine layout down the road.
It seems that a mid-engine design was considered for the car early in its creation. Callum states that an initial design concept saw the F-Type powerplant sitting amidship, and that would certainly have led to a different looking vehicle compared to the one we know today. The F-Type represents a long evolutionary leap forward over its E-Type ancestry, so it's hard to imagine the modern car not having a long hood and short rear deck.
Still, Callum believes that Jaguar has the ability to create vehicles that are not required to fit into any pre-established boxes. The I-Pace is the company's latest "mold breaker," and now a future F-Type could push that conversation along even further.
The mid-engine F-Type would also leave room for a front-engine sports car below the F-Type in Jaguar's lineup. Callum didn't comment on that possibility.
A mid-engine Jaguar F-Type could lead to the creation of a new rival for cars like the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Huracán. You can possibly add the future Porsche 911 and Corvette to that list, too. It's a battlefield that could certainly make for some lovely (and loud) competition, and we look forward to the day when all they line up alongside each other. Of course, we also want Jaguar and Chevrolet to keep their front-engine sports cars as well.
_______________________________________
