Buying a Jaguar F-Type has, since its launch in 2013, been a matter choosing between six cylinders or eight. But now the British automaker has rolled out a new, more economical option.

Jaguar today confirmed that it’s slotting one of its four-cylinder Ingenium engines into the F-Type, offering not only improved fuel economy and lower cost of entry, but a lighter package with better balance as well.

The Ingenium range of inline fours is, broadly speaking, offered in gasoline and diesel versions, with outputs ranging from 150 metric horsepower up to 300. Jaguar has naturally chosen the most powerful version for its sportiest model, the 2.0-liter turbo four good for 296 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque.

Coupled exclusively (for the time being at least) to an eight-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive, the four-cylinder F-Type is quoted to crack 60 miles per hour from a standstill in 5.4 seconds and top out at 155. (We can only hope for a manual version to follow.)

Those performance figures are pretty impressive for such a small engine, and it’s said to return 39.2 miles per gallon on the European cycle. But the biggest benefit may be felt – to performance enthusiasts at least – in the handling balance. The four-cylinder model is over 114 pounds lighter than the V6 model (never mind the V8), almost all of it in the nose.

“Most of the weight reduction is over the front axle, making the car beautifully balanced and really agile to drive – as you’d expect, the car is really at home on beautiful twisty roads,” said the F-Type’s chief product engineer Erol Mustafa. “Couple that with a four-cylinder exhaust note and this particular F-TYPE has a character all of its own. I like to think of it as the feisty younger brother of the V6 and V8 models.”

Along with the new engine option, Jaguar has redesigned the bumpers (for the entire range) and given the four-cylinder model a single center tailpipe and 18-inch wheels. It’ll be available in both coupe and roadster forms, priced in the UK from £49,900 – undercutting the V6 model by only a few thousand quid, but slotting it (in relative terms) just below the Porsche 718 Cayman S. No word on US availability yet, but we’ll be keeping an eye out.

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