Jaguar F-TYPE coupe due this year

A Jaguar insider has told motoring.com.au that the coupe version of the F-TYPE will be launched before the end of 2013.

The hard-top version of Jaguar's newest sports car is scheduled to reach global markets before the onset of the northern hemisphere winter, our source says, in anticipation of a slow-down in sales of the F-TYPE convertible during the cooler months.

It's confirmation of the obvious, in the face of strategic denial of the car's existence by Jaguar's corporate PR team.

"What we've said with [F-TYPE] Coupe is that obviously the show car we showed [C-X16] was a coupe," said Paul Chadderton, Jaguar's Global PR Director.

"This is the F-TYPE; we call it the F-TYPE convertible."

By implication, the F-TYPE convertible owes nothing to the C-X16 – or the new car is merely a convertible body style soon to be complemented by a coupe in the range. If Jaguar's PR speak seems rather turbid, there's a reason.

According to Chadderton the manufacturer has a history of revealing information about future models rather than focusing on the models available in the here and now -- and presumably that willingness to discuss future product has been costly to the company.

Unlike Porsche's Boxster and Cayman siblings, the F-TYPE coupe is expected to be lower priced than the convertible when it reaches Australia. If the coupe variants mirror those of the convertible, they will be powered by the same engines and offer the same features, by level of trim.

It's anticipated that the F-TYPE coupe will be a production version of the C-X16 show car from two years ago.

Indeed, if recent patent images uncovered by Germany’s Auto Motor Und Sport are any guide, the C-X16 show car will enter production virtually unchanged.

Jaguar's caution about revealing too much -- or anything, even -- about future product also impacts on another very important car for the prestige brand.

There's no word yet concerning a launch date for Jaguar's C-Class/3 Series rival, currently referred to by its series code, X760. Jaguar Australia Brand Manager Mark Eedle has told motoring.com.au the company doesn't officially admit that the X760 exists as a serious candidate for future production.

"We haven't commented on future product; we've said we're exploring what other opportunities are out there. But we haven't confirmed anything," he told motoring.com.au last week, ahead of the international launch of the F-TYPE.

But spy pics of a test mule clothed in XF panels have been published on the internet, and the car was seen by Aussie journalists at the entry to Jaguar Land Rover's Gaydon test track facility as we left the grounds, having briefly driven the new Range Rover Sport.

"I think there's a case of engineering departments are always looking at options, are always trying things. The cars that go out there that are testing various componentry or other elements of the cars – how they're perceived is up to the media and the viewing public – but we haven't confirmed we're doing a small car.

“We've certainly said we're exploring what opportunities we have with other size models," Eedle said.

Hypothetically however, a 3 Series/C-Class rival from Jaguar would make perfect sense; something Eedle acknowledges.

"Absolutely, it would be an entirely logical thing to do, provided the way we did it fitted with the brand's position and the brand's future direction. But when you look at the equation, there's obviously a lot of [sales] volume in that smaller segment."

Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site…