CONSIDERING the impact the E-Type Jaguar had on the motoring world it's perhaps surprising that the Midland manufacturer has taken so long to produce a replacement.

It may be more than 40 years since the last E-Type first took the world by storm, but even today there are few people in the UK who don't know what one looks like.

The same accolade can't yet be laid at the door of it's long awaited successor - the F-Type - but it soon will be.

Time takes it toll of cars as well as people and if you drive an E-Type today you will be charmed by its class and mystique but probably disappointed by its lack of user friendliness. I know, I've driven several, including the first one to be produced and now valued at several million pounds.

In its day it was the ultimate but now it's passed the baton on to the F-Type - and true sports cars don't get much better. The wait has been worth it.

The all-aluminium F-Type is available with three different engines and all deliver the sort of performance to satisfy the most enthusiastic of drivers, beginning with the 340bhp V6 F-Type at £58,500.

With an acceleration time of just 5.3 seconds for the 0-62 miles per hour sprint and a top speed of 161mph this is not a car for shrinking violets.

But if it's raw power you are looking for the V6 is just the baby of the trio which is getting rave reviews all over the world.

Step up to the supercharged F-Type S at £67,500 and your V6 gains an extra 40bhp boosting the top speed up to 171mph and reducing the 0-62mph time to just 4.9 seconds.

But for sheer raw, brutal power the flagship 5.0-litre, 500bhp supercharged V8 is the F-Type with horns. With a top speed electronically limited to 186mph and reaching 62mph in just 4.3 seconds it is frighteningly quick.

In fact it's almost too quick. While the V6 twins produce the power in a relatively civilised way the V8 quite literally roars as you floor the accelerator giving a sound reminiscent of the race track and telling you who is the boss.

The V6 models have twin exhaust pipes protruding from the centre of the car while the V8, priced from £79,950, has four tail pipes, two on each side of the vehicle.

Jaguar technicians spent a lot of time engineering in the ideal sound for each model, and the result is a spine tingling symphony in motoring harmony

With its long front, short rear section and beautifully flowing lines the new F-Type is the most elegant of two-seater sports cars. Even the external door handles have been designed to fit completely flush with the door skin and only pop out for use when you apply pressure to them.

And when you sit inside the sporty elegance is continued in the cockpit which seems to wrap itself around you.

Immediately in front of the driver are the two dominant dials, the speedometer and the rev counter, and it's interesting to note that the numbers on the latter are much larger and more dominant than on the former to encourage the driver to exploit the engine's performance to the full.

I like the new style air vents which rise up instantly from the top of the centre console when needed adding a touch of mystique to the interior.

All models come with superb body hugging sports seats and in true sports car fashion you really do sit very low in this vehicle.

On the road the new eight-speed Quickshift automatic transmission with its joystick-shaped gearshift works like a dream, sending the car surging forward with seamless gear changes.

You can also drive it manually using the paddles behind the steering wheel and as you drop down the box from speed the engine barks and spits on the overrun in true racing car style. In such situations it's not a car anyone can miss if they happen to be nearby, particularly if you are driving the ear splitting V8.

The lightness and stiffness created by the use of alloys gives the F-Type superb rigidity ensuring unparalleled agility and handling in a rear-wheel-drive two-seater.

This new Jaguar is set to become every driving enthusiasts dream while being elegant and aspirational enough to become the poster of choice on every schoolboy's bedroom wall.

Hood up or down - and you can change from one to the other while on the move - it turns heads wherever it goes.

On a practical note the boot is ridiculously small. But what the heck, you can't have everything.