It’d appear the crew at Jaguar have had a rummage through the company’s history books for its latest special-edition vehicle. Called the SVR Edition 1988, this supercharged SUV pays homage to the winning Jag XJR-9 LM race car and its Silk Cut livery at the 24 Hours of Le Mans thirty-four years ago.
Created by the personalization boffins at JLR’s SV Bespoke skunkworks, this machine is the first limited edition of the brand’s high-performance SUV. Slathered in Midnight Amethyst paint and peppered with gold-hued accents as callbacks to the Le Mans racer from ’88, Jaguar plans to build just 394 of these things — one for each lap completed by the XJR-9 LM in its winning effort all those years ago.
2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 Photo by Jaguar
2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 Photo by Jaguar
2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 Photo by Jaguar
2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 Photo by Jaguar
2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 Photo by Jaguar
2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 Photo by Jaguar
2023 Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 Photo by Jaguar
Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-9 LM race car Photo by Jaguar
“The design of the F-PACE SVR Edition 1988 is inspired by legendary Jaguar endurance racing cars,” Richard Woolley, Special Vehicle Operations Creative Director explained. “The Midnight Amethyst Gloss paintwork appears black until its amethyst undertones are revealed in bright sunshine, emphasizing the SVR’s dynamic exterior. To achieve this dramatic Ultra Metallic Gloss finish, we assessed more than 40 variations to create the desired depth of color.”
Under the hood is a 5.0L supercharged V8, one which makes excellent noises and is capable of cranking out 550 horsepower, good for a run to 100 km/h from rest in just four seconds. Top speed – at a place like Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, of course – is very nearly 300 km/h. Other SVR-spec features such as its 516 lb-ft of torque and aggro body stylings remain intact as well.
Inside, one should look for similar gold-coloured trim as on the exterior, popping up in places like the dashboard, steering wheel, and gearshift paddles. Edition 1988 branding appears on door sills in case you forget what you’re driving while entering the vehicle. “The result is a winning combination of colors, textures and features that celebrates sporting success while making the F-PACE SVR even more appealing,” explained Mark Wilkes, Director of Vehicle Personalization at Jaguar.
Edition 1988 will be presented at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next weekend and makes its dynamic debut (meaning they’ll actually drive it around and not just perch it on a pedestal) at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 23.
Keyword: Jaguar's F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 is a racing throwback