New 2013 Jaguar E-Type scooped; The next big thing by Jaguar
Jaguar’s long-awaited ‘new E-type’ is now just 18 months away from a public unveiling. After two abortive attempts to replace the iconic E-type, Jaguar insiders say that this all-aluminium car will finally step confidently into the gap left by its historic predecessor.
The test mule was spotted near Jaguar’s R&D facility in the UK and bears a striking resemblance to the current Jaguar XK Convertible. According to folks at Autocar, the official reveal of the all new Jaguar E-Type is just months away and the car could be launched at the 2013 Detroit motor show. The new car is expected to come in both coupe as well as cabriolet body styles and would directly compete with the Porsche Boxter. The new E-Type will be based on next generation XK with the same basic aluminium structure underneath.
The new E-type is expected to come in both cabrio and coupé versions and most models will be powered by a V6 petrol engine. A V8 version is expected further into the future. There’s no news on whether a V6 diesel engine will be made available, though the new architecture is expected to be capable of accommodating the engine, unlike today’s XK.
The new Jaguar E-Type will be shorter than the XK by 250 mm with an overall length of 4.55 meters. The images clearly suggest that the car is based on the XK abiet with a shorter boot. Now, the XK Convertible had a boot spoiler and a small rear window to increase the boot space. The boot spoiler was added to install the rear high mounted stop lamp according to EU-specs. This had an adverse effect on the handling of the XK when driven at high speeds. Over 130 mph or so, the front of the car used to lose downforce and as a result become twitchy.
Image Source : AutoCar.co.uk
