Like the poor beasts that are stampeded along the cobbled Spanish lanes of Pamplona, two Jaguar F-Type 75s sit waiting outside the iconic bullring as the British marque gets ready to put its internal-combustion engine lineage of sports cars to the sword.
Possibly because of those echoes of Ernest Hemingway’s eulogy to the annual bull run, Jaguar’s ICE-phaseout strategy, a response to the misbegotten belief that battery-electric vehicles are the only way forward, hangs cruelly over what should have been a joyous blast.
A two-day jaunt that saw a few U.S. journalists taking the last in the line of Jaguar’s sporting Grand Tourers through the deliciously twisting roads of the Pyrenees Mountains, from the beaches of the Mediterranean outside Barcelona to the sandy coves of San Sebastian overlooking the Atlantic.
That journey starts at Sitges, with the last in the line joined by the first of its predecessors, NUB120 – the XK120 that took Jaguar’s first competitive win in motorsport as victor of the 1950 Rallye International des Alpes. So, the F-Type 75 takes its title from the 75th anniversary of that win, which will be celebrated in 2025 with the last of the ICE models rolling off the Jaguar production line in Castle Bromwich near Coventry, U.K.
The cruelest cut of all may be that the F-Type 75 is an excellent torchbearer for its proud ancestors and, while no featherweight sportster at 3,944 lbs. (1,789 kg) in rear-wheel-drive convertible form, the car certainly will be very much lighter and more fun to drive than any porky BEV replacement. It’s also more fun than its more powerful, and heavier at 4,081 lbs. (1,851 kg), all-wheel-drive F-Type R 75 Coupé sibling, but more of that later.
Powertrain
First and foremost, the beefy 5.0L gasoline V-8 in the convertible thrashes some 440 hp and 427 lb.-ft. (579 Nm) of torque back to the rear wheels in the best sportscar tradition. Naturally, with these fairly large cars, at 6.3-ft. (1.9-m) wide on narrow mountain roads, my co-driver and I are not about to kill off the rear electronic active differential traction control to test the full tail-happy potential of the RWD beast. However, suffice to say the unencumbered steering is a joy and adds to the sensation that vehicle weight evaporates the harder the car is pushed.
And pushing hard is invited because the V-8 revs up a treat searing past its 6,000-rpm peak power output to frustratingly hit the rev limiter at just 6,900 rpm accompanied by the prerequisite popping from the exhausts. The 8-speed Quickshift transmission with paddle-shift manual control on the steering wheel or through the stickshift is particularly good on upshifts but slow on the down and possibly influenced too much by that overly cautious rev limiter.
That said, in real-world driving on the snaking mountain roads, we find little trouble harrying a briskly driven Coupé R whose 0-60 mph (97 km/h) figure of 3.5 seconds, against the convertible’s 4.4 seconds, owes as much to the extra grip from the AWD system as to the 561 hp and 515 lb.-ft. (698 Nm) of torque. The top speeds of 186 mph (299 km/h) and 177 mph (285 km/h) will have academic relevance only to those heroes regularly using the German unrestricted autobahns. For those concerned over emissions, the Coupé R claims the European-rated WLTP combined fuel consumption of 22.4 mpg (10.5 L/100 km) and CO2 emissions of 239 g/km while the convertible enjoys the same fuel consumption but CO2 of 240 g/km, presumably with the lid in place.
Yet, for the power-hungry owner, the convertible should not be totally discounted because it shares the same hardware in terms of engine and supercharger as the R. So, it wouldn’t take the average engine tuner long to get the rag-top up to at least the same performance but without having to accept the emasculating effect on the steering of all-wheel drive despite the R’s so-called rear-wheel bias. This torque-on-demand system claims “Intelligent Driveline Dynamics” technology as standard on the R 75.
Both models ride on a selection of 20-in. alloy wheels shod with sport-oriented Pirelli tires sized 255/35 at the front and a fatter 295/30 at the rear. Even with the car’s adaptive suspension, this means a firm ride on all but the smoothest of pavements, but this is a sporting car and overall comfort is not unduly compromised.
Interior
There’s also another, much less obvious, reason to plump for the convertible, because, incredibly, it appears to enjoy a quieter cabin. Both my co-pilot and I find the sound insulation on the 75 drop-top superb while the extra tire noise, presumably from the front wheels being powered, is very much more noticeable in the Coupé.
In short, the R does feel that weight both in its steering and also on the brakes, needing noticeably more effort even at speeds no greater than what the convertible can achieve. R owners might opt for Jaguar’s Carbon Ceramic Matrix braking system, featuring 398-mm and 380-mm front and rear discs with 6- and 4-piston monobloc calipers promising improved braking performance with fade resistance, all for just another $9,000 or so. However, bear in mind ceramic discs age even when not in regular use and have to be replaced regularly in full sets of discs and calipers.
Technology-wise, the car has most of the usual stuff you’d expect to see on a luxury vehicle, including a deployable trunklid spoiler, switchable active exhaust, configurable and adaptive dynamics, etc. Its cruise control is a simple on/off setup.
Visually, the F-Type 75, in both guises, still remains a very attractive car both inside and out.
Inside the 2-seater cockpit features a 12.3-in. (31-cm) reconfigurable driver display, offering a choice of display themes with the default mode being by the large central rev-counter. Lightweight slimline seats, in Sport or Performance designs, are reasonably grippy enough to secure the driver while hitting the bends at pace, albeit not so much for the passenger.
These special models benefit from Windsor leather upholstery as standard. The Tan leather interior option apparently targets U.S. buyers although other colors, such Ebony, Light Oyster and Mars Red, are also available.
Prices in the U.S. start from $77,900 for the convertible and $113,000 for the R.
