The Last of its Kind, Not Going Quietly
A decade ago, Jaguar advertised its F-Type sports car, as “the legend for your lifetime.” Now, the F-Type’s lifetime is coming to an end. The 2024 model will be the final internal combustion sports car from the marque, which has announced it is stopping all ICE production in June of this year and pausing for a switch to all EVs.
Jaguar has given enthusiasts and collectors reasons to revisit the F-Type, namely the top R75 coupe and roadster models, which use a 575-horsepower supercharged V8. That is a 131-hp boost over the supercharged V8 in the standard F-Type models.
Let’s have a last look at the 2024 F-Type R75, which starts at about $113,000 for the coupe and $115,000 for the convertible.
Fuzzy Sports Car Math
With no disrespect to Jaguar or its history of making fine sports cars, we want to address that “75” badge. Jaguar says it stands for the number of years it has been making sports cars. That pegs the start as the 1949 XK120, a landmark sports car. But the company, which was called S.S. Cars before 1945, had begun using the Jaguar name on sedans and then the fabulous and rare S.S. Jaguar 100 sports car in the mid and late 1930s.
In the post-WWII period, Jaguar’s XK series of sports cars lasted until 1960, to be replaced the following year by another milestone model, the E-Type, which remained in production until 1974. Next came a series of stylish, swift, and successful luxury grand tourers, the XJS, XK8, and XK, through 2014. Among those were some very fast machines, but marketers and industry reporters have over the decades stretched the meaning of “sports car” beyond recognition in some cases.
That left Jaguar with a 40-year hiatus with no true sports car. The F-Type ended that drought and, even in choosing that name, Jaguar acknowledged that the F-Type was bridging that gap rather than serving as a successor to the cars in between.
“A Feral Yearning”
If you had come out of an XK8 or its successor, the simply named XK, the F-Type would have felt loud and brash by comparison. In its first F-Type road test 10 years ago, Car and Driver concurred, calling the F-Type “a feline bred with a wild streak and a feral yearning to meet or beat Porsche’s best moves.” That’s a sports car description if ever there was one.
Even before the R75 models issued for 2024, the top F-Type R models already had the 575-horsepower and all-wheel-drive powertrain and were performing on par with the Aston Martin Vantage V8, for about $30,000-$40,000 less.
The R75 coupe and convertible, which come only with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, are scorching performers. They’ll do 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds and cover the quarter-mile in 11.6 seconds at 122 mph, according to published road tests. Jaguar claims a 186-mph top track speed. The R75 coupe and convertible get revised suspension for the F-Type’s final year, further improving steering response.
The confusingly named F-Type R-Dynamic versions, which have a 444-horsepower version of the supercharged V8 and rear wheel drive, are no slouches, doing 0-60 in 4.0 seconds and able to reach 177 mph. The all-wheel drive version of that car is called F-Type 75 for the final year. For a $90,000 start, the “75” also adds specific 20-inch alloy wheels and a slew of luxury features that are also standard on the R75, including 12-way power heated and cooled Performance seats, suedecloth headliner, the Meridian sound system, and more.
World Car Design of the Year
Where the XK8 and XK designs tried perhaps a little too hard to channel the E-Type, the F-Type debuted a whole new design language and was better for it. Created by Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum and his team, the F-Type won the World Car Design of the Year award when introduced.
In a 2022 F-Type road test, Car and Driver commented: “As it has been since it launched for the 2014 model year, the F-type echoes the museum-grade sculpture of its esteemed predecessor, the E-Type, one of only nine cars in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.”
For its final F-Type road test, the 2024 R75 convertible, the magazine remained consistent in its opinion, saying, “Freshened just once over a decade, the F-type’s timeless design still makes our knees weak. The long hood, wide hips, and two-seat cockpit are classic traits dating to the 1949 XK120.”
The F-Type drew some criticism for a snug cockpit, but this was a true two-seater, with no pretense of a “+2” to broaden market appeal. Luxury varied by options chosen.
Sharp Claws from the Beginning
The Jaguar F-Type launched 10 years ago offering a choice of supercharged 3.0-liter V6 5.0-liter V8 engines. Along the way, Jag added a turbocharged four-cylinder entry model and for a time offered a six-speed manual transmission for that one and the V6 variants.
Although the four-cylinder model had its charms, it seemed far out of character for the car. What was a Jaguar sports car without a rip-roaring engine? The supercharged V8 and V6 engines issued an exhaust snarl that put them in league with exotics. The four-cylinder and the V6 versions were dropped after 2021, leaving only the supercharged V8s to take the F-Type into the sunset.
Curtain Call Kitty
In case you missed it, there was a limited-production Jaguar F-Type special edition for 2024, but good luck finding one of the 150 made. Based on the 575-horsepower R model, it was called the ZP Edition and featured color combinations from historic E-type racing cars. The car commemorated the two lightly modified E-Types, with the project name “ZP,” that won the sports cars earliest races in 1961.
The secondary market offers plenty of Jaguar F-Types, and among those you’re really going to want the SVR or R models. Collectors should look for one of the 50 F-Type Project 7 editions (out of 250 built) imported to the U.S. If choosing a new F-Type, go for the topper, the R75 in coupe or convertible form.
We could not have summed up the Jaguar F-Type’s legacy any better than Car and Driver has done:
“Jaguar will not be making another internal-combustion sports car, so the 2024 F-Type is truly the last of its kind. Its visceral thrills will likely never be matched, but at least the F-Type isn’t going quiet.”
