Jaguar chief designer Ian Callum with the F-Type.

Expect to see a steady stream of Jaguar F-Type variants over the coming years, likely including an R-line model that could push the already beefy V-8 version of the sports car up into the 600-horsepower range, according to various sources.

“You can expect us to do things to maintain interest” in the F-Type, “rather than launch it and leave it,” Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar’s global brand chief, told TheDetroitBureau.com during the sports car’s first media drive in Pamplona, Spain.

While Hallmark declined to offer specific details, he made it clear that Jaguar intends to take steps to enhance its performance credentials. The maker has been rapidly adding new R-line models in recent months, including the 550-horsepower Jaguar XJR, and the limited edition XKR-S GT.

“Jaguar without a sports car is as incomplete as Ferrari without a sports car,” Hallmark said, stressing the need to take on a diverse assortment of competitors, including the vaunted Porsche 911, with the new F-Type.

In its current form, the F-Type will be offered in three trim and power levels, the 340-hp V6, the 380-hp V6S, and the 495-hp V8S.

It is all but certain that an upgrade will push the V-8-powered model to match the 550-hp XJR. But a special, limited-edition model along the lines of the XKR-S GT is apparently also under consideration.

Also on the list of possibilities: an all-wheel-drive version of the F-Type. Jaguar has learned the hard way that there are significant portions of the U.S. market where even the best luxury products won’t sell without AWD.  It recently launched all-wheel versions of key products including the XJ, something that has led to a significant jump in sales in Snowbelt markets like New York, Chicago and Boston.

Considering the strong demand in those regions for Porsche’s 911 all-wheel-drive models, and the fact that Mercedes-Benz will switch almost entirely to AWD for its AMG line-up, Jaguar likely will have to follow suit with the F-Type.