Jaguar’s replacement or next iteration of its F-Type sports car could reportedly adopt an electric powertrain.
The next F-Type or equivalent model will reportedly ride on an entirely new, mostly aluminum platform. This could reportedly accommodate either two-seat or two-plus-two seating arrangements, as well as either fully electric or internal combustion powertrains, but whether the two propulsion options will be offered concurrently is reportedly unknown.
“Despite sports cars not being a great growth area, there will be a future for the F-Type,” stated F-Type designer Ian Callum in an interview with Autocar. “Being a specialist car, it will have a longer life than the mainstream models.”
Jaguar’s parent company JLR is allegedly looking to outsource the V8 in the next F-Type (and its other products) to BMW, who will reportedly sell a 4.4-liter, twin-turbo unit to JLR with as much as 640 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque.
A replacement for the F-Type is still reportedly more than two years out but is due by the end of 2021. Jaguar as a whole is reported to be considering a fully electric switchover within nine years, which would see Jaguar take its sedans electric in 2023, most of its crossovers in 2025, and all of its lineups in 2027.
If true, there could be a reason to be excited about Jaguar’s electric future—its I-Pace EV performance crossover kept The Drive‘s Mike Guy awake at night. The automaker’s electric conversions of its classic E-Type are also some of the most riveting EVs available to buy today, so despite JLR’s apparent technological lag when compared to its mainstream competitors, Jaguar EVs of tomorrow may remain as desirable as they are today.