Jaguar F-Type all-wheel drive confirmed

Jaguar F-Type gets all-paw traction and eight new variants for 2015.

Jaguar’s F-Type sports car range is set to swell significantly with the arrival of all-wheel drive models to sit alongside the existing rear-drivers.

The British marque has confirmed that its F-Type range will grow from the current six derivatives to fourteen, with the new drivetrain making its public debut at the Los Angeles motor show later this month.

As suggested by development mules spied in January, one of those new models is the AWD F-Type R Coupe.

Powered by the same 404kW/680Nm 5.0-litre supercharged V8 as its rear-drive equivalent, the all-paw R Coupe can hit 96km/h (60mph) in 3.9 seconds - slightly quicker than the two-wheel drive model.

It is expected that all existing F-Type Coupe and Convertible models will be offered with an all-wheel drive powertrain as well as rear-drive in a similar fashion to Porsche’s 911 range.

If true, this will equate to six all-paw models and six rear-drivers. The remaining two L.A reveals could be either new four-cylinder entry-level F-Type models to compete with Porsche’s base Boxster and Cayman models, or two hardcore track-orientated ‘R.S’ models to rival the Porsche 911 GT3. 

Jaguar’s Vehicle Line Director, Ian Hoban, said the aim when developing the AWD R Coupe was to retain the playful character of the rear drive model, while adding more grip.

“The result is a controllable, exploitable and blisteringly fast performance car in all weather and road conditions,” he said. 

Jaguar has also used the launch of the F-Type AWD R Coupe to announce its tie-up with the Bloodhound SSC World Land Speed Record program which aims to raise the land speed record past 1000mph (1609km/h).

The new all-paw cat was used to complete an important communications test which involved driving the F-Type at its top speed of 299km/h towards a low flying aircraft travelling at 804km/h to simulate the closing speed of the jet-powered Bloodhound record car.

This high-speed test allowed the team to verify that the Bloodhound’s radio system would operate properly on its way to 1600km/h.

Jaguar will confirm more details on its new F-Type derivatives and its partnership with the Bloodhound SSC Land Speed Record Program on November 19 at the L.A auto show.