Latest info

[damawe63]

Hi all,
Going for a test drive this Saturday as am slowly losing heart in finding an E Type that's in great condition for about £50k, have been looking on and off for a while now but am considering the F Type instead. Looking on the forums for info has raised a few questions;

1) Is there going to be a manual gearbox and should I really care about this when most seem content with the auto / paddles, personally I'd much rather have a manual but perhaps it's time to embrace the latest technology. The the Jaguar sales person said absolutely no manual option on the horizon, anyone know differently to this?
2) Someone on this forum mentioned ford engines currently being fitted but dedicated Jaguar ones soon, is this true and what should I be aware of?
3) FHC?
4) Are there any other aspects that it would be better to know about now rather than find out about after placing an order? Where do people on here get definitive info on what's going to be available soon?
5) If we placed an order now, what are current delivery dates, weeks, months, I have no idea? Also what sort of discounts have people managed to prise out of the Jaguar sales people, I'm guessing not much for a car that's in demand...

Just a few thoughts on my mind...
Cheers dave

[jBlackwell]

Hi Dave,
1) No manual gearbox. The engine and gearbox has been designed around the race shift and paddles.
2) New engine plant is being built and finished as we speak. If that is a Ford engine in the F-Type, Im off to buy a Focus!
3)FHC due out next year. The car was designed as a FHC, but released as the Roadster first. Theory being if the roadster sells well the FHC will fly out. Unofficially the F-Type is out selling its comparative Porsche rival and at a rate of 1000 units a month at present.
4) Jaguar have released the F-Type and all upcoming information around its own website, Facebook and Twitter feeds, all provide teasers and hints as to what is coming in the future. To say they have got the secrecy milarky off to a "T" is an understatement, who saw Project 7 coming?
5) Current delivery dates are already well into next year, 6-9 months depending on model.

Hope that helps. Interested to see if anyone has heard different.

James

[raysearles]

Dave

Amazed you cannot find a decent E Type for £50k - should be some nice examples around at that money...persevere it took me over a year to find the one I wanted but it was worth it in the end.

One thing not to forget, or maybe you don't have to consider, the E will appreciate over the next 5-10 years depending on model/trim; afraid the mass produced F no matter how good will go down in value dramatically probably losing 40-50% in first 5 years; sobering numbers

[damawe63]

Thanks for the info guys, I'll be interested to hear any more thoughts people may have, as always, better to know what you're letting yourself in for.
As for E Types, I've been looking for ages and have upped our budget recently to include 50-60k cars but to be honest, although the paint jobs are usually so shiny you need sunglasses, there are normally many other disappointing aspects such as tired interiors, rusty suspension, engine frames and IRS, leaking brake cylinders, smokey engines, original wiring, damp smelling interiors, badly aligned doors, bonnets... you get the picture. I don't want a Series 3 or a 2+2 or LHD auto but an FHC. I just don't think I want to spend that amount on a car that I know is going to need fair amounts of further restoration soon-ish and I know how expensive that will be. I want a car that's really good all over and from what I've seen, they don't exist for the money we have, it's nice to think it would go up in value but it's not just about it being an investment. So yeah, I'm not making any definitive decisions on an F but they do look good and I'm sure they drive brilliantly. Once again thanks for info posted, dave

[mike020150]

Both Jaguars are great cars. Both will attract attention wherever you go. Both are fun to drive (but in very different ways). However, the biggest difference is likely to be in reliability and the effort involved in keeping each car running as its maker intended.

The F-type will be like any modern Jaguar. It will require a service once a year and an occasional tyre pressure check.

Running an E-type will require an approach more akin to a rolling restoration to keep it driving reliably and at its peak. You 'pays yer money and makes yer choice'. In other words, do you just want to drive the car or is keeping it in tiptop condition part of its enjoyment? If it's the driving experience you crave, buy the F-type. If it's the fulfilment of a lifetime dream which includes the satisfaction of keeping a legend alive and well, buy an E-type. Good luck with the decision. Mike.

[damawe63]

All responses have been very useful, am looking forward to the test drive Saturday though probably going to be raining here in the south Going back to an earlier question, a post on this forum suggested that currently Ford engines are used and I quote from the post

'Jaguar really have got the marketing spot on for this model and I hope it proves to be successful - the engines are going to be built in a dedicated plant rather than the current ford units - think it would be better to wait until the ftype has the new engines and there's talk of a manual box coming next year.'

Am I missing something here or does it imply the engines are Ford at the moment and soon to be Jaguar? I'm not so sure on second reading, perhaps we could clear this one up???

Thanks, dave

[Montana5]

As far as I'm aware the 3.0 V6 is a brand new engine designed and developed for the F Type and the 5.0 V8 is a derivative and reworked V8 (wider bores and longer stroke) as used on the XKR, XKR-S. Prior to that a 4.2 and 4.0 as fitted to S Type, XK, XJ and some Daimler Models. as far as I know without looking this up, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, after the Castle Bromwich plant closed, the production of this Engine switched to Ford's state of the art Engine plant in Wales.

I attended the VIP event for the Launch of the F Type and asked several different Jaguar suits the same question, will the F Type ever come with a Manual Box...a very emphatic no was the answer, the 8 speed Auto was the way forward, though now there is even talk of a 9 speed being developed. Having owned a small Roadster sports car for over 12 years, I also asked if there were plans afoot to build a smaller version of the F Type, again no was the answer. I just don't get this thing about large 2 seater open topped sports cars and make no bones about it the F Type is very large and wide, what is the point if you can't go down certain country roads because the car is too lardy to maintain an enjoyable but safe speed, ok I could change my mind after driving one but would like to wait until the hardtop GT version comes out first. I really looked into this car with a view to purchasing s/h in a couple of years, however what it has now done, is focus my attention on the competition something I previously would never have thought about, firstly the 911, then at a more affordable and very underrated but highly acclaimed Cayman. One thing I would say is hang off making your decision until the GT is launched and by the way I also heard a rumour that it was being brought forward and could be here as early as the end of the year. Enjoy the test drive.

Doug.

[damawe63]

Thanks for the info Doug, good to hear what Jaguar are thinking in the near future...
I'm not intending to make any rash decisions but after the test drive, who knows what I might do!! Would anyone like to speculate on prices for a FHC, is this what your calling a GT by the way? I've seen pictures of the FHC, looks really really good, but my other half fancies the soft top and I quite like it too. My reservations at the moment are 1) no manual gearbox but maybe I should embrace new thinking / technology 2) tiny boot - I'd want a space saver wheel in case of shredded tyre so would have to really plan what to take away for holidays abroad etc but what do you do with the punctured wheel - hide it somewhere and give the garage the lat/long of where to find it?
Cheers dave

[Montana5]

Dave, yes FHC or GT, take your pick.
The spare wheel issue can be a real pain and people think it will be alright fingers crossed etc, until that fateful day. One of my other Car Clubs, (Scottish Fivers Mx-5 Club) were on a run, last year, two of the Mk-3 Cars had major punctures after both hitting a serious pothole, they were in an area of the Borders which had no phone signal, no skinny space saver with the Car and Compressor with Tyre Gunk Kit was totally useless, to cut a long story short there was a 120 mile return trip involved and a full size spare borrowed from someone else back home. There is a possibility that a Skinny Space Saver from another Jag or even another large Car may fit the F Type, and fit in the Boot, though like loads of Cars if you have a Limited Slip Diff then you can't fit the Skinny on the Driven Wheels, so a rear puncture means Skinny on front and front wheel on back, which is a load of jacking to do at the side of the road, then as you say there is the problem of what to do with the damaged wheel, the passenger can't hold it on their knee, even without a passenger, would you want to carry the spare on the seat, if it would even fit, I know of one Mx-5 owner, because the full size wheel won't fit in the Boot, he carries a square of foam and a couple of tie down straps to use when needed, he has the wheel sticking out the open Boot, with the Boot lid protected by the foam, tied down snugly over the wheel, its not ideal but that is what we are faced with due to manufacturers cutting space and weight.

Doug.

[damawe63]

We both had a great time during the test drive yesterday morning, Harwoods of Chichester lent us an S model for an hour in the sunshine, overall impressions are very favourable, we both had huge smiles all day and couldn't stop talking about it. The speed of the car is amazing (not having driven such a car before), even the auto controls and paddle shift seemed second nature after about ten minutes. The noise from the car was something very special indeed, it had the active exhaust option fitted, how they got that though with the current legislation on noise is beyond me but we both thought it was great. The ergonomics of the interior was faultless in my opinion and everything was where you'd expect to find it. Afterwards we spoke to the sales guy who said that an order placed now would be available in October, looks like the backlog has now cleared itself. He also confirmed that they don't have any details of exactly when the FHC / GT is being released but probably xmas-ish.

One aspect for me which may be a compromise too far is that for such a large car, the boot really is tiny, even in our old MG TF 160, we managed 2 largish holdalls in the boot and a full size alloy under the bonnet and lots of other space for bits and pieces you need on holiday. The sale guy said that he didn't recommend a space saver as it pretty much fills the boot, and besides, you don't get a jack or tools anyway. Instead you get a 3 year tyre support warranty from Jaguar active throughout Europe so that any problems the gloop and compressor can't sort out will be handled by the breakdown service. I'm not entirely happy with this and think it's a shame as a major tyre incident will always be somewhere very inconvenient, possibly where there's no mobile phone reception and when you really need to be somewhere else!

Overall, an amazing car, compromised in some areas for sure, now we've seen one close up, I also don't think the front of the car is as attractive as the rear, just my opinion, not sure if we'll take this further as may wait and see what the FHC is like or maybe stick to my E Type dream but my other half Sue really wants the F Type now she's driven it... one last thing that may be of interest is that the showroom we visited was excellent, the staff really know their stuff and there was absolutely no pressure, he even indicated that negotiations on the manufacturers prices would definitely be welcome. A very good morning indeed.
dave.

[jBlackwell]

Hi Dave,
Thank you for that feed back on your test drive, and opinion of the dealership, all good news. I was talking to a guy who works at Jaguar on Saturday at Silverstone Classics and the current expected date of Jaguar engines fitted to Jaguar's is 2017.

Regards

James

[damawe63]

Thanks for that James, I've just called the showroom and they confirm that with the exception of the 5.0l V8 the engines are Ford.... and those fitted to the other models as well, what a shame. This may not matter to most as the car has phenomenal performance but to me not having an actual Jaguar engine is bit of a show stopper, is this the same with Aston Martin and other such brands? At least I know now. It's always good to be informed before making an expensive decision. Cheers, dave

[jBlackwell]

It is a shame that Jaguar cannot until 2017 supply their own engines, but it will get there. Aston Martin incidently had a contract with ford which they revised in 2007 eventually led to Aston being able to supply and fit their own engines into their cars this year.
It is a legacy issue with the previous ownership under Ford, but is being actively altered, at the cost of £2.5 Billion investment in new engine plants, so not an overnight fix.

James

[raysearles]

Can salesmen really be that mis-informed - please see the below from Autocar 29th June

A new supercharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine has been added to the Jaguar XJ line-up as part of a whole host of changes to the big executive saloon.

The 335bhp, 332lb ft unit replaces the normally aspirated 380bhp 5.0-litre V8 in the 2013 XJ range. Jaguar has confirmed the engine for the 2013 XF, and will appear in the new F-type sports car from launch.

A 3.0 V6-equipped XJ can crack 0-60mph in 5.7sec. Combined economy is rated at 30mpg, and CO2 emissions come in at 224g/km.

The engine will be mated to the familiar ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard, which is the first time the transmission has been offered in the XJ. The XJ’s other engines – a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel and 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol – also now get the eight-speed auto as standard instead of the old six-speed gearbox.


So this is a jaguar engine chaps - I think the salesman is getting confused with the 3.0 V6 diesel duratec engine that was a Ford design originally.... or am I missing something here?

[Montana5]

Thanks Ray, I was hoping someone would come back on that, I did say the very same a few posts back, my info was gathered from my interest taken from various sources both before and after the launch and subsequently backed up in the F Type brochure. The new SC 3.0 Litre V6 was also heralded as the first new Engine built by Jaguar since the normally aspirated 3.0 V6, as fitted to the modern S Type in 1999. Considering the heritage behind the AJ-V8, it really was a nonsense for a Jaguar representative to suggest it was a Ford Engine, unless he meant they were being built for Jaguar by Ford.

Doug.