The f type project was completed under the aegis of the new director of styling, Ian Callum, who says the F-Type concept is a tribute to Lawson. ‘Sadly’ he said, ‘This is the last car to bear Geoff’s inimitable stamp. It is a fine example of the standards we will strive to maintain.’

While the XK180 was designed around existing mechanical components, which exercised constraints on the car’s size and layout, the were no such limitations on the F-Type Concept. Heflet and his team were able to create a car which is more compact than the XK180 and 25 inches (645mm) shorter than the XKR, on which the XK180 is based. It is also four inches narrower than both cars.

The design team set out to produce a shape which is contemporary, functional and distinctively Jaguar. To fulfill Jaguar’s core engineering value of equal weight distribution for excellent dynamic performance, the concept dictated both a long cockpit which sits in an ideal position relative to the wheelbase. The resulting design achieves the balanced proportions of a traditional Jaguar sports car, evocative of the E-Type.