Jaguar F-Type 75 marks the end of ICE-powered sports car

Jaguar F-Type 75 marks the end of ICE-powered sports car

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The Jaguar F-Type sports car is riding off into the sunset as the brand prepares for a zero-emissions future from 2025.

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This move towards fully-electric vehicles will see the end of 75 years of ICE-powered Jaguar sports cars and if we're honest, this could also mean the end of the road for models like the E-Pace, F-Pace, XE and XF.

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For now, though, it's the F-Type that's first on the line. As a fitting send-off for it, Jaguar is introducing the F-Type 75 edition which features an array of special features to mark the end of an era of the sports car. Available in standard and R special edition variants in both coupe and convertible body configurations, the F-Type 75 models have been put aside for the local market but we'll have to wait for next year to get their pricing information.

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Speaking of the standard F-Type 75, a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 powerplant fires under the bonnet with 331 kW and 580 Nm channelled to either all four paws, or the rear axle via an 8-speed automatic transmission. With an electronic differential that works hard to eliminate loss of traction, the F-Type 75 blisters from 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds before maxing out at 285 km/h.

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The R variant, on the other hand, has the same 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine, but engineers fiddled with its components to extract more power. Thus said, the R spews 423 kW and 700 Nm of torque enough to send the sports car from zero to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. The top speed limiter has been raised to 300 km/h.

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Aesthetically, the Jaguar F-Type 75 spawns super-slim LED headlights with Pixel technology as standard, 'Calligraphy' J signature daytime running lights, discreet badges on the front fenders and a model-specific 20" wheel as standard. To make them stand out from their counterparts, the F-Type 75 and R models feature gloss black, 5-spoke- and gloss black diamond-turned 10-spoke designs, respectively.

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Moving to the rear, they get slim rear LED lights with the 'Chicane' signature and quad exhaust tailpipes with the R branding for the R 75 variant.

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The interior gets a 12.3" digital instrument cluster, lightweight slimline seats in Sport or Performance designs, stainless steel tread plates and an engine spin centre console finisher plus Black Pack enhancements.

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Buyers can have heating and cooling for the seats as options while Windsor leather comes standard in the special edition models. The interior is further complemented by an Ebony Suede-cloth headliner, crafted monogram stitch pattern, an Extended Leather Upgrade option, and Jaguar Leaper or R emblems in the headrests.

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Jaguar South Africa is slated to start the first customer delivery in January 2023 and pricing will be announced before that. As for the next-gen Jaguar EV sports cars, we can expect to see those in 2024. 

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