With Jaguar set to embark on an electric-only future that will render its new models almost silent, the iconic sounds of its burbling petrol engines will soon be lost.
But nostalgic petrolheads will still be able to hear its last petrol-engine sports car’s V8 motor at full song decades after the brand’s decision to cut ties with combustion engines and from 2025 transition exclusively to electric vehicles (EVs).
The only problem is, they’ll need to go to a library to enjoy its full orchestra of eight cylinders.
The sound of Jaguar’s last petrol sports car to be archived for all time: The British brand has made special sound recordings of the F-Type and shared them with the British Library
Jaguar has shared high-quality sound recordings of its last petrol sports car – the V8 F-Type 75 R – with the British Library in St Pancras, London, where they will be archived for all time.
The audio clips – made from inside the cabin and from outside the car – capture the rasping supercharged V8 in all its glory.
The brand says by sharing these with the British Library, it will ‘enable people worldwide – and for all time – to enjoy the sounds of the last combustion-engine Jaguar sports car’.
The recordings were made inside a semi-anechoic chamber at the car maker’s Gaydon Engineering Centre.
This is a soundproof room used to develop and test the refinement and sound quality of Jaguar vehicles, and is where the F-Type’s roaring V8 was originally tuned.
The soundtracks, one 30 seconds and the other 47 seconds long, capture the engine starting-up, with its instantly recognisable ‘flare’ as the revs rise before settling down to a steady 600rpm idle.
The recordings were made inside Jaguar’s semi-anechoic chamber at the Gaydon Engineering Centre. This is a soundproof room used to develop and test the refinement and sound quality of Jaguar’s vehicles, and is where the F-Type’s roaring V8 was originally tuned
End of the road: This is the special-edition Jaguar F-Type 75, which will be the final production run of the model – and any pure-combustion Jag – before it becomes an electric-only brand in 2025
The audio clips then capture a variety of the F-Type’s ‘vocal abilities’ as it gathers pace before the driver lifts off the throttle.
Jaguar says: ‘Each time the F-Type accelerates, the valves in the exhaust system open to alter the exhaust gas routing and this releases the signature roar that is particular to the F-Type driving experience.
‘Listeners will hear the crisp upshifts and downshifts through the eight-speed Quickshift transmission, and the distinctive, hallmark crackles and pops on the overrun from its quad tailpipes, which are a key element of F-Type’s visceral, driver-focused character.’
The audio clips – made from inside the cabin and from outside the car – captures the rasping supercharged V8 in all its glory
Both then capture a variety of the F-Type’s ‘vocal abilities’ as it gathers pace before the driver lifts off the throttle
The sound clips will be held in the British Library alongside other culturally significant entries, such as the first street recordings of cars.
Charles Richardson, senior sound engineer at Jaguar, said: ‘The sounds you experience driving the F-Type is something we want to be available for generations to come.
‘Archiving it with the British Library allows us to do that, and that’s something we’re very proud of.’
Commenting on the F-Type soundtrack being retained, Cheryl Tipp, the British Library’s curator of wildlife & environmental sounds, added: ‘We’re delighted to be able to preserve recordings of the F-Type V8 engine for Jaguar enthusiasts and listeners around the world.
‘As production of this engine comes to a close, this unique noise takes its place in the nation’s archive alongside other sounds that can no longer be heard today.’
When the run Castle Bromwich factory end production of the F-Type entirely at the end of the year, it will leave Jaguar’s car range consisting of the XE saloon and E-Pace and F-Pace SUVs for the following 12 months
75 years of petrol Jaguar sports cars ends in 2023
Jaguar in October confirmed that the special edition F-Type ’75’ models built until the end of 2023 will be its last pure-combustion sports car before it axes petrol engines altogether and switches to 100 per cent electric power by the middle of the decade.
The British company – now owned by Indian giant Tata – says its first EV will be a £100k four-door grand tourer with ‘wow factor‘.
But around 12 months before that arrives, production of the F-Type 75 and 75 R coupes and convertibles will cease at the end of this calendar year.
The final cars respectively offer customers the option of a 296bhp four-cylinder petrol and the choice of two 5.0-litre supercharged V8s – one with 444bhp and an all-singing-and-dancing F-Type R with a thunderous 567bhp that was recorded for the library entry.
When assembly stops at its Castle Bromwich plant in a matter of months, Jaguar will close the book on 75 years of petrol-powered sports cars, which stretches back to the XK120 and includes the ‘most beautiful car ever made’ – the E-Type.
‘These exclusive models are a fitting celebration of internal combustion engine performance before Jaguar becomes a pure electric modern luxury brand from 2025,’ Jaguar said in a statement at the end of last year.