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NOVEMBER 2018
Take-off / Motoring
Jaguar F-Type SVR
IF THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE PASSING
OF THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
THEN WE JUST GOT TAKEN TO CHURCH
History may yet judge differently,
but the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace
we drove earlier this year appears
to be the most significant new car
to come from this marque, if not this
country, in decades. It’s cleverly
packaged, beautifully-designed,
delivers close to 300 miles of range
on a single electric charge and –
most importantly of all – drives like
a Jaguar. It’s the first zero emissions
vehicle an enthusiast would want
to own.
It’s hard to over-state, therefore,
the potential impact of this
technological tour de force – on the
Jaguar brand, on new car buyers
and, indeed, on the entire future
model line. The I-Pace won’t be the
last all-electric Jaguar, and one can
only speculate on the capabilities of
a silent-running XJ executive saloon
or the accelerative forces that might
be found in a pure electric replacement
for the F-Type sports car.
Which leaves the current Jaguar
F-Type – as lithe and line-perfect
a beauty now as it was at the
time of its unveil in 2013 – awash
with a range of petrol-powered
combustion engines that might, just
might, be the last of their kind. And
in the case of the fire-breathing,
5.0-litre, V8 supercharged
powerplant delivering 575bhp in
the F-Type SVR headliner that would
be a crying shame.
Not because it can whip what
is a compact two-seater coupe all
the way to 200mph, or hit 60mph
from standstill in an absurd 3.5
seconds amidst tyre smoke and
hyperspeed scenery (think back to
the Millennium Falcon cockpit shot
when Han Solo hits the switch). But
because of the noise.
A noise that barks, bellows
and thunders akin to that of the
Almighty clearing his throat. A
noise that invigorates, excites and
– occasionally – frightens. A noise
that reaches right down into the
soul of the schoolchild inside all
of us and then pulls it clean out
of your ears. A noise that, once
silenced through regulation and
climate necessity, will be a loss on
an epic scale. And a noise that, you
suspect, Jaguar created and then
built an entire car around.
A preposterous suggestion?
That one might design a car
of such perfect form, engineer
such a beguiling combination of
ride, grip and tenacity, and then
bespoiler and bedeck it just to
enclose a noise? Nah, the F-Type
SVR is absolutely, definitely and
undeniably about the noise.
It snaps on start-up, crackles on
the over-run and pops on lift-off –
it’s your favourite breakfast cereal
on wheels is what it is. And, just in
case you hadn’t worked that out
for yourself on first acquaintance,
there’s a button on the centre
console that re-sets the exhaust
and management systems to make
more noise. Your neighbours will
either love you (as mine do) or put
your windows in for the fear you are
instigating in their pets or babies
and the accrued sleep deprivation.
But I’m down with that, either way.
These aren’t cheap thrills, prices
start from £112,525, but when the
time comes to write the epitaph
of the internal combustion engine
this will be the one that takes us to
church. Amen.
“As lithe and line-perfect a beauty
now as it was at the time of its unveil
in 2013 – awash with a range of
petrol-powered combustion
engines that might, just might,
be the last of their kind”
THE DETAILS
Jaguar F-Type
SVR Coupe.
5.0-litre,
supercharged
V8, 575bhp,
501lb/ft torque,
0-60mph in 3.5
seconds, top
speed 200mph,
eight-speed
automatic,
combined
25.9mpg, 249g/
km CO2. £112,525.
www.jaguar.
co.uk