Jaguar has released further details of the new 14-model 2016 F-type line-up, which will include the option of a manual transmission and an all-wheel-drive model for the first time.

The manual is the first to be fitted to a Jaguar sports car since the E-type, and the new six-speed gearbox is called Quickshift and will be available only in conjunction with the F-type’s supercharged V6 engine. The “short-travel” gearlever is said to have a throw of just 45mm and “closely spaced ratios”.

Read the 2015 Jagguar F-type R AWD Coupe review here

Jaguar says the gearbox was developed in association with ZF and uses an aluminium casing and “innovative semi-dry sump lubrication system”. The ’box has a rod linkage between the lever and selector forks for “the most direct connection”.

The F-type’s centre console has been reshaped to allow the driver’s arm the maximum amount of free movement.

Jaguar says that rather than “the usual splash lubrication”, the new gearbox gets a compact mechanical pump that is driven off the layshaft and sprays oil on to the gear teeth, bearings and synchroniser rings. This has reduced oil capacity to just 1.2 litres, which, in turn, has allowed a small ’box casing.

The new manual ’box will be offered with the V6 in both 335bhp and 375bhp forms.

The 2016 F-type will also switch to electrically assisted power steering from hydraulic assistance, a first for a Jaguar. The company says the new system is the first that, its engineers feel, outperforms its existing steering systems. It is also responsible for a CO2 reduction of 4g/km.

Jaguar has also confirmed that it will bring an all-wheel-drive variant of the F-type sports car to market for the first time.

In top-end R coupé form, the AWD F-type is capable of reaching 60mph in 3.9sec – an improvement of 0.2sec on the standard rear-wheel-drive car – while keeping the same 186mph top speed.

The expanded F-type range will include the current standard, S and R-badged models in both coupé and convertible forms. The updates see the convertible get a V8 R version for the first time. It gets the same 3.9sec 0-60mph time as the coupe, despite the increased weight of the folding roof.

The F-type will also get a torque vectoring system as standard. It will improve the car's agility by reducing the power to a wheel in case of a loss of traction.

A new version, powered by a high-performance four-cylinder petrol engine from Jaguar Land Rover's new Ingenium range, is also likely.