As part of its plans to become an all-electric brand by 2025, Jaguar is discontinuing its current line-up in its entirety, Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) CEO Adrian Mardell confirmed to the UK’s Autocar.
This includes the E-Pace crossover, F-Pace SUV, F-Type coupe, and rather surprisingly, the automaker’s first and only fully-electric vehicle (EV) to date, the I-Pace – thus contradicting previous statements that said the I-Pace would be updated and relaunched as a second-generation model.
While there is no date set in stone on which the last petrol-powered Jaguar will roll out of the factory, Mardell said the current estimation is within the first half of 2025, just under two years from today.
Between now and then, JLR also plans to reveal its first all-electric Jaguar built on the brand’s new bespoke electric architecture called JEA, which is set to go on sale not long after the existing line-up is removed from the proverbial shelves.
“We don’t want the product to be out of the market for too long, particularly the electrified one [I-Pace]. Now we’re waiting for the confidence in JEA,” said Mardell.
“Right now, people are telling me it’s going to be in the first half of 2025. That’s just under two years away. I’d be more confident in that response when we’re nine to 12 months away. So we’ve got time – we’ve got nine to 12 months – to work through these decisions.”
Gone but not forgotten
Jaguar turning into an all-electric automaker is indeed the end of an era, with its fans begrudgingly having to say goodbye to the glorious V8 powerplants that adorned its SV-badged models for the past few decades.
It’s not all bad news, though, as JLR is aware of the love affair the public has with the V8 exhaust notes, and it has taken the liberty to record the pops and burbles of its last-ever F-Type and archiving them in the British Library for future generations to enjoy.
Rather fittingly, it used the F-Type R75’s supercharged, 5.0-litre, V8 powerplant for the job and took recordings from both inside and outside the cabin to capture the essence of the engine’s unmistakable excellence.
The sound begins with a start-up to treat listeners to the signature “flare” of revs before the motor settles back at 600rpm, followed by a burst of acceleration that puts centre stage the meticulously-designed active exhaust valves and gear changes from the eight-speed box, and it is completed with the shutting down of the engine signaling its final goodbye.
The soundbites were recorded in 30 and 47-second tracks in a semi-anechoic chamber at the Gaydon Engineering Centre where the F-Type’s exhaust note was originally tuned.
In this soundproof room, which is used to develop and test sound refinement and quality, in excess of 85 iterations of the F-Type’s exhaust were tested before the production-ready version was unveiled to the public.
“We’re delighted to be able to preserve recordings of the F-Type V8 engine for Jaguar enthusiasts and listeners around the world,” said Cheryl Tipp, The British Library’s curator of wildlife and environment sounds.
“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.”
You can listen to the last recording of the legendary Jaguar F-Type V8 that will be stored in the British Library below.
Keyword: Jaguar is discontinuing its entire line-up of cars