Jaguar unveils F-Type in New York

It's been one of the worst-kept secrets in the motoring industry - and one that has kept Jaguar and sports car fans salivating. Jaguar has officially announced at New York motor show that it will build the F-Type. 

The new two-seater sports car that will arrive as a convertible  has been seeded from the response to the C-X16 concept that was unveiled last year. 

The concept was unanimously hailed at the tijme, and credited with being the successor to the legenday E-Type.

Jaguar's global brand director Adrian Hallmark said the reaction to the C-X16 has fast-tracked the F-Type. 

"The reaction has been so positive that we've accelerated our development of an all-new Jaguar sports car that will be unveiled in production form later this year."

Hallmark said the brand was keen to get back into the sports segment from which they've been absent for "too long". Jaguar's design chief, Ian Callum, pointed to the long history of Jaguar success in the segment.

"A true sports car needs to be pure in both its purpose and its form. 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."

The F-Type will use the weight-saving benefits of Jaguar's experience in aluminium construction, and a range of engines have been promised - including "a new family" when the production car is revealed. The car will be built at Jaguar's Castle Bromwich plant in Britain, where engineering prototypes are already under way.

Full Jaguar F-TYPE range and specification will be revealed later this year, with the car slated to go on sale in mid-2013.