Jaguar drops turbo-four into F-TYPE

UPDATE 13/04/2017 11:30am: Jaguar Australia has confirmed local availability of the four-cylinder F-TYPE Coupe and Convertible from the fourth quarter of this year, following the release of the facelifted 18MY F-TYPE range in the second quarter. Available in entry-level and premium R-Dynamic guises, the turbo-four is priced from $107,300 plus on-road costs -- just over $12,000 less than the current F-TYPE range-opener, the 250kW/450Nm supercharged V6 coupe. Full pricing is yet to be revealed.

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Jaguar has announced it will launch a new entry-level F-TYPE coupe and convertible that will come powered by Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) turbocharged four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine.

Sitting beneath the current 250kW/450Nm 3.0-litre V6 in the F-TYPE line-up, the new 2.0-litre turbo produces 221kW/400Nm.

Combined with an eight-speed automatic, the British car-maker claims that's enough to deliver a 0-100km/h sprint of 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 249km/h.

Those figures make the new four-cylinder F-TYPE less than half a second slower to 100km/h than the V6 while offering more than 16 per cent better fuel consumption than the bigger 3.0-litre.

Boasting the highest specific power output of any engine in the F-TYPE range (150hp per litre), the new F-TYPE engine is the most powerful derivative yet of JLR's Ingenium petrol four-cylinder.

Weighing in 52kg lighter than the V6 (mostly over the front axle), Jaguar says both the entry-level coupe and convertible benefit from enhanced agility in corners -- with better steering feel, improved body control and superior ride comfort.

To help make up for its less exotic cylinder count, the 2.0-litre turbo comes with an active sports exhaust as standard, which is claimed to provide a "more involving driving experience".

Fuel consumption, meanwhile, is a respectable 7.2L/100km with emissions of just 163g/km of CO2.

Arriving as part of the 2018 Model Year updates, the latest F-TYPE derivative comes with the rest of the range's redesigned bumpers and full LED headlamps.

Helping car spotters identify the lesser F-TYPE in the wild, the four-cylinder version comes with a centrally-mounted single exhaust rather than the V6’s twin central outlets and the V8’s quad outboard tailpipes.

It also rides on smaller lightweight 18-inch alloys.

Inside, like the rest of the updated range, there's the option of new lightweight slim-line seats and the firm's new TouchPro infotainment system.

New safety tech like autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, traffic sign recognition, plus adaptive speed limited and driver fatigue detection also become available.

As well as the standard entry-level F-TYPE, Jaguar says it will offer buyers of the four-cylinder turbo the option of a sportier R-Dynamic body kit that adds larger 19-inch wheels.

For those who drive on track the British car-maker says it will offer a performance brake upgrade that keeps its steel rotors but boosts disc size from 355mm/32mm to 380mm/376mm.