Sound of V8 Jag lives on in British Library

Jaguar has recorded the sound of its its last V8 for posterity. Good thinking 99. The recordings, made from inside and outside the car, c...

Jaguar has recorded the sound of its its last V8 for posterity. Good thinking 99.

The recordings, made from inside and outside the car, capture the unmistakeable, supercharged V8 soundtrack.

Selected for the recording was a 2024 Model Year F-Type R 75 Coupé, a special edition created to mark the final model year of F-Type and 75 years of Jaguar sports cars.

Its 5.0-litre supercharged V8 develops 423kW and 700Nm of torque and can accelerate the car from 0-100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds and on to an electronically-limited maximum speed of 300 km/h.

The recordings were made inside the semi-anechoic chamber at the Gaydon Engineering Centre, a soundproof room used to develop and test the refinement and sound quality of Jaguar’s vehicles.

It's the same place that the F-Type’s exhaust note was originally tuned, the Ligurian satin black R 75 Coupé performed a number of gear shifts and acceleration sprints, composing the 30 and 47 second tracks.

Jaguar has shared the recordings with the British Library, enabling people to enjoy the sounds of the last combustion-engine Jaguar sports car for all time. 

Senior Sound Engineer, Charles Richardson, said: the F-Type’s supercharged V8 makes a unique sound because of the meticulous optimisation work applied to the entire powertrain, most of all to the intake and exhaust systems.

He said there were more than 85 iterations before the car was launched and the sounds has undergone continuous development ever since.  

“The culmination of that work – the sounds you experience driving the F-Type R 75 – is something we want to be available for generations to come," he said.

"Archiving it with the British Library allows us to do that, and that’s something we’re very proud of.” 

F-Type R 75 Coupé

 

The Library’s Curator of Wildlife & Environmental Sounds, Cheryl Tipp, said the library was 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," she said.

The 30 and 47 second recordings begin with engine start-up, signified by the instantly recognisable ‘flare’ as the revs rise before settling down to a steady 600 rpm idle, the characteristic eight-cylinder note subtly hinting to the car’s performance potential.

From there the run in the chamber simulates a variety of the F-Type's vocal abilities. 

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. 

Listeners will hear the crisp upshifts and downshifts through the 8-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. 

To deliver the optimal playback quality the exterior recordings can be accessed here before going live on the British Library’s website.  

Configure your own F-Type 75 here. 

Capturing the sound of the supercharged V8.

 

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