People Just Aren't Buying Manual Jaguar F-Types
When Jaguar launched a manual version of the F-Type a few years ago, it came as something of a surprise. For sports cars, automatic transmissions tend to reign supreme in terms of sales, so it was commendable for a comparatively small company like Jaguar to put a stick in its flagship coupe and convertible.
Unfortunately, though, the manual Fs have not been able to buck the sales trend. The word from the US automotive media is the car is no more in the country, following low sales. Having snagged a mere four per cent of overall F-Type sales since launch (according to Car and Driver), the six-speed F-Type appears to be absent from the 2020 model year range.
Jaguar UK wasn’t able to confirm the death of the F-Type manual in the USA when contacted by Car Throttle, referring to the apparent demise as “speculation - which we do not comment on”. But we have been told that the car is still for sale in the UK, and sure enough, it can be selected on the UK configurator. On the US version, only automatics are present at the time of writing.
UK take-up on the six-speed F-Type has been similarly low at “less than five per cent,” Jaguar also told us. A British sports car with a six-cylinder engine and a manual ‘box may be regarded by us petrolheads as a match made in heaven, but it seems few of the people actually walking into showrooms agree.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
because manuals came only in v6 versions, and everybody is after a v8
I mean… It’s a car rich people buy for their wives while they cruise around in a DCT Bimmer/Audi/Merc. What do you expect? Expensive manual cars are going the way of the dodo. Normal people don’t care. Even I’ve bought an auto car to commute in. Never thought I’d say that 10 years ago!
Guess it’s only the keyboard warriors who claim to want to “save the manuals”. Actual purchasers who cut cheques are eventually chickening out. Sad.
The brand enthusiats and not only them can’t afford such cars,and the world has grown kind of lazy being fed with the phrase: auto gearboxes are more efficient,with which I agree,but I’m not the guy that can live with an auto,so the only persons who can afford that are rich and care ‘bout their emblem and not the heritage that car carries,I said what I had to say.
Probably also why people are not buying it is probably because manual versions cost way more here a 2016 v6 auto goes for 32-38k while a manual goes from about 45k+ & manual ftype is rare here people i dont think many will want to spend a extra 5-10 thousand to have a a manual version