The facelifted 2021 Jaguar F-Type has arrived, and while everyone is noticing its heavily revised looks, there are a lot of changes to Jag’s sports car that go beyond its aesthetics. Some of the biggest changes can be found, not so ironically, underneath the F-Type’s new clamshell hood.

Gone are the days when you could choose from as many as eight engine options for the F-Type. For the revised model, the base four-cylinder model, the six-cylinder variant, and the supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 unit remain as the holdovers. A new engine could join the mix should Jaguar release an SVR version, but for now, engine options aren't what they used to be, and that might be a good thing.

The four-cylinder engine remains, but versions of the supercharged V-6 are gone in some markets

This might shock a lot of people, but Jaguar has decided to cut the engine options available for the 2021 Jaguar F-Type.

The 2.0-liter inline-four cylinder engine will still be offered in the entry-level F-Type, in part because of the model's popularity among buyers, particularly those from the U.K. and European markets. This engine produces 296 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

The V-6 engine, on the other hand, will no longer be offered in the U.K. and European markets for sales reasons, or lack thereof. In its place will be a 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 engine that produces 444 horsepower and 428 pound-feet of torque. The top-of-the-line 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 will still be around for the new range-topping F-Type R and output has been bumped up to 567 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque - an increase of 17 horsepower and 14 pound-feet.

The U.S. market will have a different set of available engine options.

Given its output, this engine is likely the same one that sits under the hood of the coupé and convertible versions of the current Jaguar F-Type S.

Jaguar has released performance numbers for the available engines, too. The entry-level 2021 F-Type with the four-banger can sprint from 0 to 62 mph in 5.7 seconds. The mid-range V-6 engine-powered F-Type S can do the deed in 4.6 seconds regardless if it runs on rear- or all-wheel drive. The new Euro-spec V-8 engine can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 4.4 seconds. Then there’s the top-of-the-line (for now, we hope) F-Type R. It only takes 3.6 seconds for this version the Jag sports car to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph.



What about the Jaguar F-Type SVR?

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The F-Type R even gets an upgraded chassis with new springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars. If you want to cut around 50 pounds from the F-Type R’s weight, you can buy carbon-ceramic brakes as an option.

So, where does this leave the F-Type SVR screamer? The current version of the top-of-the-line F-Type has been around since 2016, and there’s a case to be made that Jaguar could just let the existing model run its course alongside the rest of the current-generation F-Type. If that’s the case, the new F-Type SVR may not arrive until after the next-generation F-Type hits the market. That model isn’t expected to arrive until 2022 or 2023.

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Considering that the new F-Type R now has the same amount of power as the existing F-Type SVR, Jaguar would have to offer something new to the table if it decides to build a new F-Type SVR as part of the roster of facelifted F-Types. Doing so could cost a lot of money, not to mention developmental resources that Jag could otherwise invest in the development of the next-generation SVR.

The automaker has already raised the bar with the new F-Type R occupying the same space as the existing F-Type SVR. It’s going to need to make a statement when the new F-Type SVR arrives, most likely as part of the next-generation F-Type.

Final Thoughts

The facelifted 2021 Jaguar F-Type looks more like a next-generation model than your typical nip-and-tuck model. The Ian Callum-penned profile remains the same, but there are also a lot of important exterior details that are new to the model. These details are getting all the publicity at the moment, but don’t sleep on the new engine lineup either. The choices are far more limited now than they’ve been in the past, but that could be a product of Jaguar giving the facelifted F-Type enough engine options to remain relevant until the next-generation model arrives. The automaker even threw in a new V-8 unit with a different state of tune compared to all the other past options. The facelifted 2021 Jaguar F-Type is a short-term update that’s meant to squeeze out all the last bits the automaker can from the current-generation F-Type. It’s effectively laying the table for the arrival of the next-generation F-Type, which is expected to come sometime in 2022 or 2023.