Jaguar's First True Sports Car In Decades Is A Beast

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/jaguars-newly-revealed-f-type-2012-9?op=1

There's plenty of doom and gloom at this year's Paris Motor Show, as Europe faces a shrinking auto market. Among the many new conventional cars, meant to assuage customers by offering fuel economy and comfort, there are a few standouts.

Chief among them is the F-Type: Jaguar's long anticipated successor to the iconic E-Type.

The British luxury auto maker formally unveiled the new ride on Wednesday night. Singer Lana Del Rey, tapped as the celebrity face of the F-Type for her sexy but classy image, was on hand to perform the number she wrote for the occasion.

The new F-Type is a big deal for Jaguar, which says it is the first true sports car it has produced since 1974, when the long-hooded E-Type was discontinued, The New York Times reported.


This is a Series I E-Type, one of the best sports cars ever built.


The soft top can be lowered or raised while driving as fast as 30 mph.

[marasinghe]

1. reccing for the E-Type: my favorite car of all time.

though i prefer British Racing Green, to the Blue.

[Brother Buzz]

22. Basic Black worked well for Harold's XKE

[B Calm]

2. Mitt Romney will probably get one

just to go up and down in his garage elevator.

Had a Maserati pass my freightliner yesterday up in Michigan, something you don't see everyday. Must be nice to be in the 1%!

[pstokely]

8. Is there enough room for a dog crate on the top?

?

[rfranklin]

10. only problem is when you retract the top, the dog ends up in the trunk...

at least it gets out of the slipstream.

[lonestarnot]

23. or catapulted to the next roof top.

[longship]

3. But you'll still not be able to find anybody to fix it when it inevitably breaks down.

I had two British cars, an Austin Healy and an MG. Both were horribly unreliable and the dealers were equally so. I did better fixing them myself. SU carbs are easy, but those damned shock absorbers were horrible. Don't ask me about the electrical systems.

On edit: I switched to Volvos and haven't looked back since.

[xchrom]

4. now you need a degree in computer science to fix one -- or just about any car.

i'm not much of a gear head -- but i do like cars for their looks and the old jags rev my engine for style.

[longship]

5. That's why I wouldn't own a new car.

My current one is an 89 Volvo 740 which is dying. I would never buy any other Volvo other than a four cylinder. They were the most reliable auto on the road. I am currently looking for a 940 to replace it (Volvo's last four banger, sadly none with their unbreakable manual transmission).

[xchrom]

6. used to be you couldn't kill a volvo or an old vw.

those were really well made cars.

[pstokely]

7. European cars don't have high reliability according to Consumer reports

but 1%ers don't care about those peasant issues

[rfranklin]

9. The old joke was that you had to have two Jaguars...because one was always at the mechanic's garage.

However, after Ford took over the company they improved the build and reliability tremendously.

I was able to purchase a used S Type Jaguar for a reasonable price (less than a VW) because they suffer from that reputation and have a lower resale value. The car has been very reliable.

[Turbineguy]

19. I owned a Jag for a while

A lovely car. XJ6. 4 doors, six cylinder. Same insurance rates as a Chevy Nova. But yes, I had to get another car to get parts. Everything cost $1000 to fix (in 1978 dollars!). The head gasket started leaking and I got a roll-away full of tools and fixed it myself with money left over.

For every hour of driving there were 2 hours of maintenance. But it was beautiful and fast, comfortable and fun to drive.

[Ready4Change]

13. Jaguars have become MUCH better since then.

I used t have an old MGB and I know exactly what you mean regarding old British cars. Over the few years I owned it, I repaired or replaced pretty much every part on the car, except for body panels. (They were rusting out too, but I didn't want to do body work.)

Since then, Jaguars ownership has passed through the hands of several other automakers, and each has contributed to making it a more reliable brand.

[Ikonoklast]

14. Joseph Lucas, The Prince of Darkness himself, laughs at you from the depths of Hell.

Joseph Lucas "The Prince of Darkness"
1842-1903


The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark."

Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.

Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.

Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF. The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics.

If Lucas made guns, wars would never start

Back in the `70s, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which did not suck.

Q: Why do the British drink warm beer? A: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone.
Thomas Edison invented the Light Bulb.

Joseph Lucas invented the Short Circuit.

[pinboy3niner]

15. Ain't it the truth, LOL!

I had a '70 E-Type, and I'm a Vietnam veteran. I still have flashbacks--of Lucas.

[Ikonoklast]

18. As a vintage British motorcycle owner and enthusiast, there have been many a time late at night

that I have cursed the name of Joseph Lucas to eternal damnation with tears of rage and frustration in my eyes.

Every time I did, I swear that I would hear a faint hollow echo of derisive spectral laughter in response.



I can fully understand where getting shot at with AAA and SAM's by people who are seriously focused upon rudely depriving one of their life would have been a joy compared to the horrific pain of the endless psychic torture of trying to keep a Lucas Magneto together and working for more than a month at a time.

[Lizzie Poppet]

21. My Dad loves his old British iron.

He's got half a dozen of 'em (including one Vincent!). I don't recall a time when they were all running at the same time. Lovely bikes, though, and somehow very satisfying to ride. I ride, too (modern bikes, thanks...), and I've ridden each of them. Yes, it was like pulling teeth to get a ride on the Black Shadow. Each had tremendous character, and not just the kind of "character" that comes from making you push it home.

The new Triumphs, however, are the equal of any make in terms of dependability. My Daytona 675 (I'm a sportbike gal...) never had a moment's problem, despite being ridden fairly hard on track days. I sold it to get a literbike (an Aprilia RSV4...a completely reliable Italian bike; what's the world coming to??), but I'd certainly get another Triumph.

[longship]

17. The fucking battery cables on an MGB!!

Arrrrrgh! (Pulls hair out by roots.)

The damned batteries, 2 x 6 volt to make 12 volts, were under the fucking jump seat (behind the driver). Plus, it was fucking positive ground, backwards to the rest of the world. So you couldn't buy any replacement but fucking Lucas.

I really liked how my MGB-GT looked, but it was a horrible car. My Healy was pretty good until those idiotic rear lever shocks went bad. Gawd! What a nightmare they were!

My used four cylinder Volvos drive forever with few or no breakdowns. Been driving them for decades -- the most reliable design on the planet with an unbreakable drive train. Unfortunately, Volvo hasn't built them since the 940, in the 1990's.

I am currently looking for another one.

[ladjf]

24. I had so much trouble with my MG batteries that I customarily used the hand crank to fire it up.

(Which was relatively easy and very reliable.)

[2on2u]

11. Nice automobile... always loved the Jag design, was my Matchbox vehicle of choice.... however

the Porsche has edged in as a technological marvel so I am a tad in conflict... but only a tad. Check the mpg potential.





Hybrid concepts for future sports cars are inescapable ~ remember the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG E-Cell? Well here is the stunning Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid concept car with plug in hybrid that launched in Geneva i’ve been obsessively looking at pics of lately. Look at those wheels in particular! And the aggressively sleek exterior? Stats: “An emission level of just 70 grams CO2 per kilometer on fuel consumption of three liters/100 kilometers (equal to 94 mpg imp) outstanding even for an ultra-compact city car. 0 to 100 km/h in just under 3.2 seconds, top speed of 320 km/h (198 mph). Body shell made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFP) with appropriate use of magnesium and aluminum to reduce weight to less than 1,490 kg or 3,285 lb and provide stiffness.” Although just a concept, they said it would be put into production if 1000 people were serious about it… and it looks like it might be happening! Take a peek at the gorgeous promo video and close up pics on the next page.

&feature=player_embedded

[madrchsod]

12. jaguar is owned by india`s industrial giant Tata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Group

[etherealtruth]

16. I did not know that, thanks!

[Hutzpa]

20. Child please

nt