In 2024, Jaguar launched an all-new brand identity using a selection of people with odd hairstyles. According to that ad, it wanted to “copy nothing,” which is quite odd because it ended up copying the biggest trend of them all at the time. Indeed, Jaguar announced that it would go all-electric with a brand-new concept car that, rather ironically, looked like a Rolls-Royce concept from a few years earlier.
That strange concept would eventually become the Type 01, and its recent dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed has done nothing to change my opinion on Jag’s current state. The world needs another 1,000-hp electric sedan like it needs another pandemic, which is a kind way of saying, “hard pass.”
A Lukewarm Dynamic Debut
The IG video above is a nicely edited version of what we saw live on the Goodwood stream. The Type 01 went mowing, but it looked quite fast on the straights. To me, it looked like the antithesis of what Jaguar is actually good at, which is building beautiful, handling brutes out of aluminum and blessing them with a mighty V6 or V8 engine. Anyone who has ever driven the final XJR (a heavily depreciated bargain, by the way) will know what I mean.
I’m also not opposed to the idea of Jaguar launching an EV. I quite liked the I-Pace, even though it quickly became irrelevant as Jaguar’s rivals launched better cars at lower prices. And I happen to believe EVs are the ultimate daily solution, so I can save my sports car for the weekend — for when I want to drive, not when I have to.
That gives me a neat segue to the best sports car Jaguar ever built. The F-Type is a brilliant machine, and seeing the Type 01 in action has me wondering whether now is the best time to spend $30,000 on the finest version of the F-Type ever created.
The Supercharged V6, Mated To A Manual
2016 Jaguar F-Type SVR Convertible driving front 3/4Jaguar
This is an argument we’ve had several times before in the CarBuzz office. One side of the office believes the only F-Type worth buying is the so-called “ultimate” version. That would be the supercharged V8 SVR. I happen to believe otherwise. The best F-Type ever made was the six-speed manual, only offered in rear-wheel drive and with the supercharged V6. We all agree that the turbocharged four-cylinder was rubbish.
To me, the supercharged V6 was perfection. It sounded sublime, and the 340 horsepower it produced made it the Goldilocks model. The supercharged V8 was a bit too raunchy and wayward, until Jaguar added AWD as standard. But the manual V6 remained gloriously RWD-only, with manageable oversteer available on demand. Plus, you got all the other good bits of the F-Type as standard. These include incredible handling and design — and that’s pretty much it. (The facelifted model with the slimmer headlights doesn’t look nearly as good as the original.)
2016 Jaguar F-Type S Coupe Black Interior Manual Front CabinBAT
The best thing about this particular model is that few people wanted it, so it’s extremely rare. At the time of writing, only three were on sale, and they go for as little as $30,000 with only 20,000 miles on the odometer. That’s less than you pay for a new Mazda Miata, and it’s a lot more fun.
The F-Type is also an old-school Jaguar, which is another way of saying it’s a bit of a bad boy. The new Jaguar wants to come across as intelligent and refined, much like a lecturer in postmodern literature wearing thin, help-me-look-smart spectacles. An old-school Jaguar is the kind of character that only shows up to a lecture once, punches the above-mentioned teacher in the stomach, and takes his lunch money.
It’s a cliché, but it exists for a reason. We love Jaguars because they’re designed to be aggressive, and they always deliver theater and personality whether you want it or not. The F-Type convertible doesn’t even have a proper trunk, but who cares? Just listen to the noises it makes.
The One Reason to Hesitate Before Buying a $30k F-Type
The Jaguar F-Type R, with 550 hp. Perfect for villians.Jaguar
I’ve looked at several F-Types posted for sale, and I’m wondering the same thing. My main concern is that Jaguar may not be on the right path. It has spent whatever money it has on a car that nobody really wants at the moment. In 2024, it looked like everyone was going all-in on electric vehicles, but that strategy backfired significantly. Since then, there have been some big changes at Jag.
Even the mighty Porsche got it completely wrong. It’s struggling at the moment, selling its stake in Rimac and making all sorts of changes to cut costs. And that’s all because it read the market wrong. It now has to reverse course and bring ICE models back, but thankfully, it recognized the error before it was too late. Closer to home, Stellantis will be launching a series of V8-powered models. Put simply, the EV revolution didn’t materialize, and now an EV is all Jaguar has. Will it survive? I don’t know. But it’s so typically Jaguar to innovate when it’s too late.
Maybe it’s worth waiting another year or two to see if Jaguar is still around. But who knows what Jaguar F-Types will be worth by then. Perhaps even cheaper, or maybe three times as much, because everyone misses what Jaguar once stood for.
Jaguar Keeps On Making The Same Mistake
2019 Jaguar XJJaguar
Jaguar has been making the same mistake since I’ve been writing about cars, which is roughly 20 years. It launches a new product that is exceptional, but then the brand forgets that it actually needs to replace that model with something new.
Look at all the examples of cars that remained in production for nearly 10 years or longer with only minor changes. The XJ, XF, XK, and the F-Pace. The E-Pace is an outlier in the sense that it was never that good to begin with.
The Jaguar XK Coupe was the brand’s last really analog driver’s car.Jaguar
The same can be said of Alfa Romeo. The Giulia was a masterpiece when it was launched, but it’s now nearly 10 years later, and we still have no idea what the next car is even going to look like. Meanwhile, we’ve already seen two generations of the BMW 3 Series since then, and we’re on the verge of a brand-new model.
Let me put it this way: 90% of my brain wants to buy an F-Type with a supercharged V6. I don’t even really care if it’s manual or not. I just want the handling, the performance, and the pantomime. But the other 10% can’t help but wonder if Jaguar will be around two years from now, and who will look after my car when it’s gone?
