It won’t be long before every Jaguar will be powered by near-silent electricity, but the brand’s most glorious gas-guzzling legacy is to be saved forever – or at least the sound of it is.
Jaguar has recorded the roar of the very last F-Type 75 R and submitted it to the British Library in London to be stored where it will “enable people worldwide – and for all time – to enjoy the sounds of the last combustion-engine Jaguar sports car.”
The sounds of internal combustion excellence were captured in a semi-anechoic chamber at Jaguar’s Gaydon Engineering Center where the F-Type’s engine was originally tuned. Two recordings were created: one lasting 30 seconds and the other 47 seconds. Each captures the engine firing up with an emotive throttle blip, settling to a 600rpm idle and then being sonically stretched throughout its rev range.
“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,” says Jaguar.” 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 sounds of the F-Type will join other culturally-significant but no-longer-heard sounds in the library’s archive. Charles Richardson, senior sound engineer at Jaguar, says: “The sounds you experience driving the F-Type is something we want to be available for generations to come.”
Cheryl Tipp, the British Library’s curator of wildlife & environmental sounds, adds: “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.”
What a dull world it is going to be without the sound of a great V8