Looking back on the 2023 F-Type R as Jaguar readies to end production

The Jaguar F-Type R is a headache. There’s no way around it. An unrefined handful at speed, inconsiderately loud, poorly quality-controlled, statistically troublesome, unjustifiably thirsty, and sometimes laughably cheap to the fingers, this is a car that somehow thrills and disappoints in near-equal measure.

It’s also a delightfully nonsensical experience — and one which sports-car shoppers with more than one parking spot ought to think about subjecting themselves to while they still can. With model year 2024 officially set to sunset the line, time draws short for this Bay-Street staple.

Make no mistake: the Jaguar F-Type R 575 was already one of a dying breed. A supercharged, large-displacement 5.0L V8; antiquated traction management; and unkempt handling make it a welcome anachronism to the oughtstalgist. If anything, the sensibility of a trusty ZF eight-speed automatic and power-wrangling AWD are the most modern traits in the package.

It also remains a rare delight against a backdrop of modern, tractable maturity. Vorsprung durch Technik and all that, competitors have maintained ceaseless innovative momentum, if at a cost to personality: BMW steering is now too technically precise to offer any pleasure, Porsche has sterilized the soul out of most 911s, and the R8 has evolved from a high-sporting curio into an outright supercar. The F-Type, meanwhile, has remained rather as it was eight years ago: charming in its post-recession catharsis and endearing in its cash-strapped shortcomings.

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

Of course, the curtain is closing on this eve of the electrified era. Jaguar has announced that next year’s 2024s will be the last of the line, with a special-edition 75th-anniversary edition set to close the books with quiet fanfare. Canadian details have not been announced, but JLR’s announcement of the four- and eight-cylinder F-Type 75s promises unique badging and interior elements, a new available colour, and standard 20-inch wheels.

Adjectival marketing details are otherwise unremarkable for the segment: “monotube dampers” are the industry norm, not exception; “Torque Vectoring by Braking” has been long-since been surpassed by competitors’ non-parasitic E-diffs, and we’d be stunned if the car were suspended by anything other than double wishbones with aluminum die-cast components. It’s state-of-the-art-2013, but, hey: my second year of university was fun, and so is this wheeled contemporary.

2024 Jaguar F-Type 75 Photo by Jaguar

Architecturally steady through two facelifts, today’s F-Type R is at once more elegant than a C7 Corvette, yet somehow less refined than a current Mustang GT. Clean lines evoke the profile of the iconic E-Type, while the cats on the nose and tail signal tailored-outfit class and cultural cachet that the jorts-dressed Corvette crowd can’t touch. Traction control, meanwhile, is of the crude power-sapping variety, frustratingly ignoring throttle inputs entirely too long after the tires have hooked back up. It’s as though the car’s been neutered to spare the shame of any consequence of its washy dynamics.

Slim, facelifted LED lighting is clean and clear when scooting after dark. Where the convertible’s high bulkhead seriously limits interior stowage, the coupe’s expansive boot opens the cabin significantly and affords proper usability for daily errand duties. Available premium audio is acceptable but unremarkable for the $120k bracket, and bass can draw attention to annoying door-panel vibrations.

Turn down the stereo, and exhaust noises should gratify any boy-racer worth their right foot. The R’s dynamic exhaust opens up above 4,000 rpm, punctuating the 567 horsepower, 516 lb-ft 575 V8’s rhythmic combustion with enthusiastic injection of bang-crackle silliness on overruns or throttle prods. Drivers hoping to hear any supercharger whine will come away disappointed, but the tailpipes deliver enough decibels to refocus such expectation in short order.

Forward greenhouse visibility is clear, though rearward is tight. Blind-spot detection and a backup camera mitigate this — at least in theory. I experienced repeated failures of the essential backup camera in my time testing, persisting even through system restarts.

I’m typically reasonably forgiving of faults in individual press cars. Some testers are early builds with kinks that may not be representative of the series production models to follow. Other times, stuff just happens.

The F-Type has earned no such benefit of the doubt.

Between the three Defenders I drove last year and the two 2022 Jags I sampled back-to-back, I have yet to drive a current Jaguar-Land Rover product that doesn’t rattle. Likewise, JLR’s infotainment system — once hubristically touted as running more lines of code than a Boeing Dreamliner — suffers frequent lag and unresponsiveness, locking drivers out of multimedia and even climate controls until those millions of bloated lines of code stabilize.

I don’t usually write about minor tech problems with individual press cars, but the F’s failures are becoming harder to forgive as unique flukes.
Beyond laggy infotainment, the backup camera stopped working today worsening the coupe’s already-limited rear visibility situation. https://t.co/G5ocGMnYpo pic.twitter.com/MO3NqrKM2w

— elle alder (@analogmotoring) June 21, 2022

As if the emissions-driven demise of thirsty supercharged V8s wasn’t already threatening enough to machines like the R, Jaguar itself seems to face an uncertain future. COVID-19 has not been kind to Jaguar-Land Rover, nor has market wariness of its consistent bottom-rung reliability record.

Seemingly backstopped only by Land Rover’s sales success, Jaguar’s car business is flagging in North America. The beleaguered manufacturer has lost billions of dollars in recent years, and if Indian parent Tata’s five-year plan doesn’t bring a turnaround by 2025, those storm clouds may only fall darker.

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

For all its woes, I hope that shoppers continue to consider the F-Type through its last year. Finality confers collectability, and if the resolute charms of this yellow 2022 are any indication, 2023’s final editions should prove delightful cruisers.

If you’ve never experienced a Jag but want the dignified grand tourer you’ve been led to think they’re about, the powerfully elegant Lexus LC 500 — perhaps the single best enthusiast vehicle I’ve driven all year — is your most stolid answer. If you want an irresponsible Top Gear drift missile, a rear-driven Mustang GT will maim pedestrians just as effectively for a fraction of the cost. If you just need to pull up to the Stock Exchange looking the part, there’s no going wrong with a Porsche 911.

2022 Jaguar F-Type R 575 Photo by Sudarsan Prabhu

Whether by environmental or corporate exigencies, then, the F-Type R is a unique experience that won’t be available to us for much longer. If you have the heart to bear its nuisances and the flexibility to accommodate 20 per cent more problems than the industry average, I would absolutely encourage you to take the plunge.

The 911 will still be here tomorrow, but the Fates have trained their eyes on this curious market antiquity. If you can swing it, now will prove the time to get one while you still can.

The 2022 Jaguar F-Type R is a cackling thrill of a daily and an attractive grand tourer. Just know that for all the sophistication of Jaguar’s marketing, there’s nothing dignified about angrily mashing your fingers against an unresponsive infotainment screen.