New Jaguar F-Type R75 2023 review

Verdict

The R75 doesn’t bring anything fundamentally different to the table for the F-Type, but all the model’s core strengths remain, as well as a few weaknesses. It looks expensive compared to the still very powerful P450 75, particularly as the model is feeling its age inside, but as a send-off for Jaguar’s last ICE sports car, it certainly appeals. 

Like many premium car manufacturers, Jaguar is awfully keen on making special editions. Normally these amount to little more than subtle spec changes, maybe a unique optional colour, and perhaps some new badging. Often a little bit of Jaguar history will be referenced.

On a quick perusal of the press release, the F-Type P450 75 and F-Type R75 seem to fit that bill. Each gets the normally optional Windsor leather as standard, along with Ebony ‘suedecloth’ headliners, lighter ‘slimline’ seats, and little badges displaying the silhouette of the F-Type on either side of the body. 

75-exclusive Hue Giola Green paint is optional on both versions, and we can confirm it looks fabulous in the metal. Each car gets a special 20-inch wheel design, which in the case of the R75 we’re testing here involves a gloss black, diamond-turned finish and 10 spokes. As for the historical bit, the ‘75’ refers to 75 years of Jaguar sports cars, the first being the XK120 of 1948.

What makes the 75 and R75 different is they’re not offered in addition to existing F-Type derivatives. If you want a V8-powered version of the F-Type, it has to be one of these, and if you’re thinking of ordering, you ought to do it soon - this is, sadly, the vehicle’s final model year, and with Jaguar transitioning to an all-electric brand by 2025, this will be its last combustion-powered sports car. 

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In the metal, the design and trim tweaks do a good job of building on the groundwork laid by the F-Type’s 2020 facelift, which was substantial enough that today, it really doesn’t look like a car first revealed more than 10 years ago. 

The same can’t quite be said of the cabin, though. The overall design is still a very successful one, with a chunky centre console and its thick grab handle giving a cocooned feeling to the driver’s seat, but it’s saddled with Jaguar’s previous-generation infotainment system rather than the newer, slicker Pivi Pro setup. That means a somewhat hard-to-follow sat-nav, that’s easily confused, with dated-looking graphics, and a sluggish touchscreen. The quality of the cabin could be better, too. 

The onboard tech isn’t exactly the main draw of the F-Type, though. It’s the engine. As with the P450 75, the R75 uses a 5.0-litre, supercharged V8 whose roots can be traced back to a powerplant Jaguar fitted to the likes of the XJ308 XJ8 and XK8 in the late nineties. It may not be fresh, then, but there’s no doubting its effectiveness - here, it’s good for 567bhp and 700Nm of torque, providing a 3.7-second 0-62mph time. 

We’re so used to performance cars coming with turbocharged engines these days, that the super-sharp throttle response of this supercharged V8 comes as quite a shock when experiencing it for the first time in a while. With every flooring of the throttle, the F-Type pins you to the seat and gathers speed at an alarming rate, with the thrilling acceleration accompanied by a particularly filthy V8 soundtrack. 

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Admittedly, there have been more tuneful V8s to come and go in the last 20 years - Audi’s 4.2-litre unit and the E9x BMW M3’s powerplant immediately spring to mind - but they’re all gone. The Jag V8 is the one that’s stuck around, so the almost antisocial, macho roar from its quad exhaust is a welcome din in today's performance car landscape. It also arguably makes a better, more cultured noise following the introduction of particulate filters for the model a few years ago. Let's face it - all those pops and bangs were a little puerile.

There is still a particularly angry upshift ‘fart’, though, accompanied by an equally aggressive gear change from the eight-speed automatic gearbox. The thump in the back when in Dynamic mode is a little too strong, if anything - it borders on being unpleasant, and it’s not like the shift’s furious nature makes the cog swapping any faster. The transmission is well-resolved as a whole, although at lower speeds there is the occasional shunt as ratios are shuffled. 

All of this could be said about the old F-Type R, and that’s because mechanically, the R75 doesn’t bring anything new to the table. That means it drives much the same. As of the 2020 facelift, the R took the limited-run SVR model’s suspension set-up, adding a newfound sense of focus. And a rather firm ride. Higher frequency asphalt imperfections - for instance on roads overdue a resurface - chatter through the cabin, particularly in Dynamic mode, so on some country roads it’s worth using the configurable mode to switch the adaptive dampers to their softer setting while leaving everything else turned up. 

The damping settles neatly over most undulations, though, and keeps the body nicely level when cornering hard. The level of traction from the four-wheel drive system feels near-endless on a dry road, meanwhile. The R75 feels most at home on fast, sweeping bends, where you can enjoy using the thundering V8 and the four powered wheels to slingshot the car out of each corner while appreciating well-weighted, predictable steering. 

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It feels less accomplished in tighter corners, where the F-Type soon reminds its driver that it’s a heavy thing, with a reluctance to change direction quickly. The R75 Coupe tips the scales at 1,855kg, and there are times when you feel every one of those kilos, thanks largely to that heavy engine up front. Really, the F-Type is more of a sporty GT than a true sports car. The inline-four model, which is still available in R Dynamic trim, is much closer to being the latter than the former thanks to its lighter nose, but not by enough for us to want to ditch the V8. 

To do things ‘properly’, the F-Type really needs a V8. As for which one, there’s a strong rationale to forgo the all-powerful R75 for the still very fast P450 75, which is nearly £25,000 cheaper. The R75 is £102,870 in Coupe form, and Jaguar provides plenty of ways to pump that price up, including the 'Liguarian Black' satin finish of our test car, which is - wait for it - £9,990. 

Over £100k seems punchy, but since cars like this won't be around for much longer, we can certainly see the appeal. 

Now read all about Jaguar's plan for an all-electric future...