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JAGUAR had, for a while, been seen as the poor relation in the JLR family. At one stage, Land Rover was selling more Evoques alone than Jaguar was selling of its entire model range. That changed with the arrival of the F-Pace and E-Pace SUVs, while the multi-award-winning I-Pace has really helped move the brand into a new electrified era. We’re back on petrol power this week as Jaguar reveals a heavily revised version of its fabulous F-Type sports car. Always pretty – maybe more from the back than the front – this new model now has the whole package. I understand that the previous model wasn’t exactly the car the design team wanted – the joys of a management team that thought it knew better, perhaps – but this…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy • Next-generation supermini to arrive early, using new platform • Promises more striking styling plus engine and tech upgrades “Expectawider track, more pronounced wheelarches and more complex LED lights front and rear” SKODA is gearing up to unveil the fourth generation of its big-selling Fabia supermini, due in showrooms in the first half of 2021. The current Fabia was introduced at the end of 2014, so a replacement wouldn’t normally be due until late 2021. However, Skoda has fast-tracked the Mk4 model slightly to hasten a switch of platforms that will allow it to both give the car a more striking look plus upgrade the powertrains and cabin technology. While sister vehicles the SEAT Ibiza, Audi A1 and Volkswagen Polo are all now based upon the VW Group’s…

Superb iV AVAILABLE: ON SALE Skoda’s first electrified vehicle promises more than 30 miles of pure EV driving; initial customer deliveries take place in January Citigo-e iV AVAILABLE: JANUARY Electric city runabout can cover more than 160 miles on a charge and is one of the cheapest EVs on sale. Deliveries in March Octavia AVAILABLE: MID-2020 Fourth generation of Skoda’s biggest-selling model has had a complete overhaul, and it will be here in the middle of 2020 Vision iV Concept AVAILABLE: LATE 2020 Brand’s first dedicated electric vehicle will be based on VW Group’s MEB platform. Official debut would be at Geneva Motor Show…

James_Batchelor@dennis.co.uk @JRRBatchelor • Sharper I-Pace-inspired looks for revised two-seater sports car • Four and eight-cylinder engines for coupé and convertible models THIS is the new Jaguar F-Type – a heavily updated version of the coupé that first arrived back in 2013. Much like with the recently revised XE saloon, Jag has updated its sports car to keep it fresh in the face of newer competition, like the Porsche 911. The front of the car bears the brunt of the changes; the outgoing F-Type’s smooth E-Type-inspired styling has been replaced with one more akin to Jaguar’s all-electric I-Pace SUV, with a lower and squarer look. The new grille is larger than before and has a lozenge pattern that harks back to the original Jaguar logo of the forties and fifties, while…

WHILE the updated F-Type is only just beginning to roll into showrooms, Jaguar’s engineers are well under way with the development of the car’s eventual successor. And the news is that it’s set to use hybrid technology and switch to a mid-engined layout. What’s more, the flexible architecture that Jaguar will use would allow it to develop a fully electric sports car, too. High-ranking officials working on the project are said to be using the Honda NSX as a technical benchmark. The car would move Jaguar into supercar territory, alongside the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini, and give the brand a shift upmarket. The finished car, previewed in our exclusive image, is still several years away, though, and isn’t expected to appear until 2022 at the earliest.…

Luke_Wilkinson@dennis.co.uk @LT_Wilkinson • New platform for E-Pace • Only minor changes to looks THE next 12 months will see a flurry of activity at Jaguar as the brand gears up to launch not only the new F-Type (see Page 10) but also a heavily updated version of its smallest SUV, the E-Pace. While the changes are technically only a mid-life facelift, the E-Pace will undergo quite a transformation. It will switch to a new platform that allows plug-in hybrid technology to be introduced along with a substantial interior technology update. As with the recently revised Land Rover Discovery Sport (Issue 1,593), the E-Pace will move onto JLR’s Premium Transverse Architecture (PTA). Jaguar’s smallest SUV is the only remaining JLR product still based on the firm’s ageing D8 underpinnings, which can…