What better way to say farewell to Jaguar's long line of brutish petrolpowered sports cars than a coast-to-coast dash across W Spain from Barcelona to San Sebastián? That's a 550km, sub-six-hour all-motorway blast if you are time-efficient and obeying the speed limit, but 800km-plus if you're exploring the Pyrenees to say a more hairpinny goodbye, as we are. Farewell not only to the F-type, but to Jaguar's 75-year ancestry of meaty two-seater and two-plus-two (you need to include the XJ-S and XK8 to avoid a massive hole in the timeline) internal-combustion-engine greats.
This really feels like a significant and sombre changing of the guard. And with it the laying to rest once and for all of the most difficult job that any car could have being perceived (by the public) as the (intended) successor to the E-type. The irony is that this is a job the F-type has done better than any of its predecessors with its bulbous haunches, frowning face, piercing rear lights and rorty V8.
There were other F-type engine options, of course, and they were excellent, but who would want to mark the death of such a golden era with a 2.0-litre modular four-pot? The traditional Jaguar sports car as a breed is dying and it needs to go out in a blaze of tyreshredding glory rather than a docile whimper.
Well, as much glory as fun-sapping fat tyres and four-wheel drive will allow.
Even when the F-type was introduced in 2012 it seemed to be a return to form, to the uncompromised purity that demographics had forbidden since 1975. Using a shortened version of the XK8 platform, it was the work of Ian Callum and widely praised on launch, even if people had to wait a year for the perfectly formed coupé to join the convertible. The F-type had a facelift in 2020 and this R75 special edition doesn't add a great deal to the history... except the full stop at the end of it.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Octane.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Octane.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Nathalie McGloin
The only female tetraplegic racing driver in the world and co-founder of Spinal Track, charity supporting disabled drivers
Atomium
An iron molecule, 100m tall and scaled-up 165billion times, was the future in ’58
The Valjoux 7750
Rendered obsolete in the late 1970s, Edmond Capt's wonder movement is not only back, but selling 200,000 units a year
Lucy O'Reilly Schell
The first American woman to compete in a Grand Prix was also a distinguished rally driver and team owner
OCTANE CARS
OWNING+ DRIVING + MAINTAINING
OUR MAN IN JAPAN
James Elliott joins an exclusive Japanese classic tour in an exquisite Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato 1600
LONG-TERM LEGENDS
These two SS100 Jaguars have been in the hands of well-known and dedicated enthusiasts for five decades and more. Chris Mann divulges their entertaining histories
Micky Pople
Octane meets the 95-year-old and talks about his life with the stars as one of Bristol's Filton Fliers'
LEADING FROM THE MIDDLE
The René Bonnet Djet was the world's first mid-engined production road car. Glen Waddington enjoys a momentous French Lotus rival
BACK AGAIN FOR MORE
This Le Mans-winning Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Zagato Spider appeared in the very first issue of Octane. More than 20 years on, Robert Coucher acquaints himself and finally gets behind the wheel