Something’s wrong with the Jaguar F-TYPE. It’s gnawing away at me. What is it?
The shape? No.
The wheels? Nope.
The rear lights? Nuh uh.
It’s the colour.
More Blue Is Key
At least that’s what the folks at Jaguar Land Rover believe. Announcing the new F-TYPE Reims Edition on Blue Monday last week – reportedly the most depressing day of the year – it seems the outside of the car just isn’t blue enough.
Come again?
That’s right. All those exterior paint options on the F-TYPE. And none of them were really, really blue. Nothing was quite bleu enough.
Bleu?
That’s right. Bleu de France to be precise.
What?
It’s a colour, mon ami.
Blue – French style
You see bleu means blue in French. And Bleu de France means French Racing Blue. It’s the only colour the new F-TYPE Reims Edition comes in.
It is evidently a special colour and for Jaguar it has special meaning. It evokes the Jaguar D-Type’s victory at the 12 Hours of Reims in France in 1954. A golden era for Jaguar racing.
Jaguar would like the new F-TYPE Reims Edition to draw on that heritage. This means that the new F-TYPE Reims Edition will also come with a sporty Exterior Black Pack offering black gloss side vents, grille surround, Jaguar script and Jaguar Leaper. Five split-spoke alloy wheels (20 inch if you’re wondering) are also black gloss. And an Interior Black Pack offers black door handles, black door switches and black instrument finishers among others.
But apart from the Bleu de France exterior and a bit of black trim that’s about it.
Any Other Features?
Granted a fixed panoramic roof, heated steering wheel and heated seats provide additional luxuries. But how about special inlays like the Aston Martin DBX Bowmore Edition? Or embossing the headrests with the year in which the D-Type won at Reims?
I can’t help but feel Jaguar could have done more to make the Reims Edition stand out so that it truly reflects the marque’s racing heritage.
An Exclusive Offering
Maybe exclusivity is more the name of the game for Jaguar. Only 150 F-TYPE Reims Editions will be produced. And like its XE Reims Edition stablemate (see the Motor Verso write up here), the car will only be available to UK customers. Buyers will also have a choice of two configurations: the 4-cylinder P300 or the V8 P450 at £58,950 and £71,450 respectively.
Managing Director at Jaguar Land Rover, Rawdon Glover, is clearly proud of the design: “With the F-TYPE Reims Edition we’re able to take the most advanced sports car we’ve ever produced, imbue it with a little bit of Jaguar racing heritage and deliver our customers even more value and exclusivity. For just 150 UK customers, and in the enormously important year for Jaguar’s sports car history, the F-TYPE is more enticing than ever.”
The Perfect Blue Monday Antidote? Maybe
So is it the colour that’s been gnawing away at me on the F-Type? No. The feeling that something is wrong is still there. And as for the perfect Blue Monday antidote…I’ll leave that for you to decide.
