Jaguar to launch Boxster rival in 2013

For 11 years both automotive journalists and Jaguar fans alike have been lamenting Ford’s decision not to build the gorgeous Jaguar F-Type roadster it has teased us with. In the meantime, Jaguar is no longer owned by Ford and new owner Tata Motors seems to be much more ambitious since it has, eventually, decided to put the small roadster into production.

At least that’s what the report from the British magazine Autocar claims. Jaguar, which has seen its sales decline lately, is developing a rival to the Porsche Boxster that can also be viewed as the spiritual successor of the most coveted Jag of all times: the E-Type.

Autocar’s sources from within the company say that the car will bear some of the E-Type’s signature characteristics like the long bonnet/short tail bodywork. But, they insist, the styling will be modern and not a retro copycat of the nearly four decades-old E-Type.

Since the model isn’t scheduled to enter production, it is too early to know details such as the powertrain or its underpinnings. But what we know for sure is that it will be placed under the XK in Jag’s range and, like all of the brand’s models, will be offered both with naturally aspirated and sportier, supercharged versions.