Jaguar’s Final V8 Sports Car Will Be Another F-Type
Get ’em while you can.
Jaguar announced in June of last year that its 2022 F-Type sports car would be equipped exclusively with 5.0-liter supercharged eight-cylinder engines. It appears that the British automaker isn’t quite ready to give up its roaring V8 yet, at least for 2023, even though the next-generation F-Type will reportedly be mid-engined and electric.
British publication Autocar conducted an interview with Jaguar Land Rover vehicle boss Nick Collins, who revealed that Jaguar has plans to launch special versions of its gas-engined cars, including the F-Type, before they go electric.
"You’ve seen our recent F-Pace SVR Edition 1988: we will do more like that, including with the XF and XE, which will be back soon," Collins said. "And next year we will celebrate 75 years of Jaguar sports cars by doing something special with the F-Type. It will be our last-ever V8 sports car. Maybe it will be like the old [Land Rover] Defender and have a bumper year."
Let's hope so.
He continued to find the silver lining under the cloud hovering over the industry, noting that supply chain issues created opportunities for Jaguar to cut its number of variants to focus on value over volume. In April, Jaguar reported a 20.8 percent year-over-year decline, which is significant. However, it's not as dire as Honda's losses, which are closer to 50 percent.
“In 2024, we will show the world what a new Jaguar will be like; in 2025, we will deliver cars to customers,” Collins said.
Jaguar is set to be entirely electric by 2025 as part of Jaguar Land Rover's Reimagine plan, and the brand is building its own EV platform. That may be an ambitious idea versus sharing a platform with partner, which it previously considered. The automaker has been standing by its mission for the next vehicles to be "copies of nothing" and that extends all the way to the innermost parts. In its current form, the Jaguar F-Type is riding on its aural magnificence and still a stunner, but I'm eager to see what happens next.
Bonus: In case you haven't seen the old Top Gear episode during which the guys talk about funny Jaguar stereotypes, here you go:
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