Jaguar is moving like a cheetah with the development of its new sports car model that was teased at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show through the C-X16 Concept study.

Today, at the New York Auto Show, the company announced the production model will be called the F-Type and it will launch as a roadster in mid-2013. A coupe variant will most likely follow in 2014.

“We showed the C-X16 concept in September 2011, and the reaction to it has been so positive that we’ve accelerated our development of an all-new Jaguar sports car,” commented Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar Global Brand Director.

“That car will be called the F-TYPE, and it will be unveiled in production form later this year. The core appeal of Jaguar’s cars is their sporting heart, and that heart will beat stronger than ever before in the F-TYPE,” he added.

The F-Type will be a strictly two-seater model positioned under the XK range, which also includes a coupe and a convertible model.

Together with the announcement, Jaguar published a batch of pictures of the F-Type roadster in a camouflage-like wrap.

Jaguar did not say if the F-Type will use the concept’s hybrid system that combines a 380-horsepower 3.0-liter supercharged V6 with a 95HP electric motor integrated in the eight-speed automatic transmission’s structure, but it is believed that a similar setup will be offered down the line.

The production model will most likely launch with a conventional V6 powerplant.

The new F-Type model will be positioned between the Porsche Boxster and the 911 Convertible.

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