I DON'T think it's an exaggeration to say this one of the most eagerly awaited sports cars of all time. In fact, we've been waiting for this for nearly 40 years.
Today Jaguar has announced it will make a new sports car called the F-Type, meaning motoring fans will finally get a successor to the beautiful E-Type, which went out of production in 1975. It will almost certainly be related to the CX-16 concept car we saw last year and - if it's anywhere near as good as the XF, XK and XJ - it looks likely the company could have another sports car hit on its hands.
Ever since the E-Type was replaced by the XJ-S keen drivers have been calling for a true F-Type successor and it's fair to say the company's had a few false starts with the project, with the canned XJ41 coupe project eventually helping to create the Aston-Martin DB7. Then, in 2000, it wowed the motoring press with the stunning F-Type concept car, but again nothing came of it.
But this latest F-Type, Jaguar Land Rover says, will make production.
Ian Callum, the company's design director, said: "A true sports car needs to be pure in both its purpose and its form; to have the opportunity to produce such a car for Jaguar has been a privilege both for myself and for my team.
"The C-type, D-type and E-type Jaguars were all sports cars that held true to this principle in their era, and the F-Type will hold true to that same principle in its time, a time that is soon to arrive."
The F-Type will go on sale in the middle of next year. I'll start saving...
