This looks mid-engine-ish
or an EV. Or just marketing. Just thought it looks a bit similar.

 

Thanks for the link. That is one strange video. I surfed through Jags youtube channel but got bored after hundreds of non-sports car uploads. It seems Jag has no passion beyond batteries and crossovers.

Its like racaus cars aren't wanted or even tolerated by the safe space generation. I hope they made enough F-Types to keep the used market going til I die.

 

It looks pretty close to the cx-75 to me, just a bit stubbier

 

Everything has to be looked at in relation to relativity(my apologies to Mr. Einstein). If we were looking just for comfort when we drove we would be all driving Lincoln Town cars or Cadillac Escalades. If we were worried about economy, we would be in VW Beetles, or such.
We drive our F-Types because we like the looks, performance, etc. If Coventry produces a Mid-engine version, I am sure they will have done more than enough research to know if it will fly(??). I only hope by the time they do they realize that an EV version that goes less than 500 miles /charge is not going to make it with the mass public. Hopefully any mid-engine Jag would be Hybrid and accommodate a driver that is at least 6' 2". There are a few of us 'Large economy size drivers out here. We are not all potential 'Kentucky Derby' winners.

 

I know drag strip as American as apple pie, but I disagree with your assessment. "track focus" means that car can handle high speed turns in addition to being fast off the line. Going very fast in a straight line is not as simple as one would think, but going fast through a turn is orders of magnitude more complex.

In my book track-focused cars are better cars than drag strip focused cars. Even in America, with mostly straight roads, you don't only drive in a straight line. If you disagree, what car do you think can take curved on-ramp and merge into highway at higher speed - mid engine stock C8 or a prize-winning funny car?

 

Neither! The UNHINGDMOBILE.

 

The C8 has no performance specs beyond a casual "We're seeing times under 3 secs" which is unofficial, could be downhill with a 50 mph tailwind, but is most likely a business development guy saying whatever it takes to sell cars. We'll know when the car is uploaded to Dragy.

I would say C8 Z51 performance, today, is best described with reliable physics models that peg it as a 3.65 sec car. The car and driver test video shows 3.60 secs to right before the gear change.

The 720S has 720HP, weighes 10% less, has the same uneven weight distro, is RWD, has a DCT, and it can't break 3.1 secs in stock form on Dragy.

 

Let me further clarify my point. Drag strip numbers is only one of many meaningful performance characteristic. When you focus on it to the exclusion of other things, you don't get a full picture of car's performance characteristics. This is because drag strips are flat, straight, and specially conditioned surface that is not equivalent to all driving.

Braking distance matters. Maximum lateral grip matters. Weight distribution and weight transfer matter. Heat soak and brake fade matters. Drive train configuration, like RWD or AWD matter. LSD matter. So when you say "C8 Z51 ... peg it as a 3.65 sec car." you are examining only part of the picture.

 

A tesla will blow any automatic transmission off the line, because even modern AT can't link up like that.
And there I am, sitting 100 yards behind both cars in my manual transmission.
That's the story of the drag strip, but who's happiest?

 

I never understood those cautionary speed signs on cloverleaf exit ramps. I’ve never encountered an exit ramp that couldn’t be safely taken at any posted freeway limit.

 

I agree with you, but no one knows how the C8 handles except for the two major accidents with pro drivers. The first was a major wreck at VIR, people are still finding pieces and putting them on youtube. The second was understeering around a canyon bend right into a major head-on collision.

So far its the C8 mid-engine coffin. I really do not understand buying a car no one has driven, but I'm different I guess.

 

Mid-rear engine mounting does create on-throttle understeer. Since the front will be light already, acceleration lifts the front even more which does create understeer. Cars like the R8 and McLaren's have anti-squat mechanisms to help combat this but they are more than 2x the C8 price. My 4C has understeer due to the front lifting on acceleration as well. It can be addressed with an aftermarket suspension but I'm not that bothered about it. I'm sure the C8 will have some as well.

 

A 60R/40F weight distribution creates off throttle understeer, too. Both the C7 and F-Type had or have perfect 50/50 handling, so it's risky to deviate from ideal. It might create areas of advantage, but overall 50/50 is the best handling set-up.

 

I've enjoyed driving an R8, my only mid-engine experience. Do we really believe Jag is going to invest that kind of money on one platform?