Jaguar F-Type LOSES Two Cylinders. Gets 296bhp. Costs from £49,900

The Jaguar F-Type with a 296bhp four-cylinder engine has debuted at the New York Motor Show and will cost from £49,900 when it goes on sale.

Everyone is doing it, so Jaguar are joining in. Cutting the cylinder count, that is. Say hello to the Jaguar F-Type four-cylinder.

Yes, Jaguar’s flagship sports car can now be had with the same four cylinder petrol engine you can now find across the whole Jaguar Land Rover range, although this is the most powerful, turbocharged Ingenium petrol engine with 296bhp and 295lb/ft of torque.

Those power figures aren’t far shy of the 335bhp you get from the V6, and as the four-cylinder Ingenium lump is lighter there really isn’t a lot in it when it comes to performance; the new four-cylinder hits 62mph in 5.7 seconds, just 0.4s slower than the V6.

Jaguar has tweaked the suspension to make it better suited to the smaller engine’s lower weight, and the exhaust has, Jaguar say, been ‘Meticulously Tuned’ to make sure it sounds like an F-Type.

The smaller engine and lower weight do mean improved official economy of 39.2mpg rather than the 33.6mpg of the V6. Even using our usual 2/3rds rule of thumb for real world economy, owners should see 26mpg.

You’ll be able to single out the new low cylinder count F-Type by its oblong exhaust tips as the whole F-Type range gets a refresh for 2018 with tweaked bumpers and lights and additional driver assist technology.

Ultimately, it’s going to come down to personal preference when you wander off to your local Jaguar dealers – four-cylinder or V6 – because there’s not a lot in it on price: the new four-cylinder Jaguar F-Type is just £2,365 cheaper than the V6 at £49,900.