- the next-generation jaguar f-type sports car could move its engine to the middle, according to a report from autocar.
- former jaguar design chief ian callum says the company was pursuing a design similar to the c-x75 concept for the next-gen f-type that's due in a few years.
- callum also said that jaguar is considering making the next f-type fully electric.
decades of speculation about the mid-engined corvette finally bore fruit this year, and now we're hoping that the latest rumor about the jaguar f-type will follow a similar path. the rumblings come from an autocar story that quotes former jaguar design chief ian callum in saying that the company, is seriously considering a mid-engined successor to its current front-engined f-type sports car.
if it happens, it sounds like the mid-engined f-type would look a lot like the c-x75 concept car pictured above. "we could get quite close," callum told autocar. the c-x75 hybrid supercar was originally slated for production in 2011, but jaguar cancelled plans to build it in 2013, citing cost as a major obstacle.
things might be a bit different this time around in the powertrain department, as there's supposedly talk of dropping gas engines altogether for the f-type and instead opting for a t- or h-shaped battery pack and electric motor—a move that would make it mid-motored rather than mid-engined. a hybridized v-8 gasoline engine has also been discussed.
if this exciting new configuration for the f-type comes to fruition, it will likely be some years away. jaguar first has to show the facelifted version of the current-generation f-type, due sometime within the next year. an entirely new model likely wouldn't arrive for several years after that, meaning we have plenty of time to let the rumormill continue to churn.