November 2020

A common pub-chat topic of conversation amongst automotive perverts such as myself is regularly centred around 'the golden era of automotive manufacturing. I am not talking about supercars, hypercars or racing cars here; I am talking about your everyday 'as seen in the showroom' motorcar. Cool cars you could walk into a dealership and buy with actual money to show off to your fellow motorist just how much of a petrolhead are. 

Now, if you are a regular listener to the Driven Chat Podcast (streamed every Monday morning where ever you get your usual podcast fix), then you probably will not be surprised to learn that my personal preference of manufacturing spans from the mid-nineties through to the mid-noughties and specifically favours a particular three-letter-acronym'd German car brand with an in-house 'go faster division' called; 'M'.

In the late nineties, it would seem that the designers and engineers at BMW M paid very little notice of 'carbon emissions' when piecing together their plans for cars. Either that or the term 'carbon footprint' simply wasn't yet on-trend. At the time, BMW M was producing naturally aspirated performance cars complete with individual throttle bodies in either 3.2-litre straight-six or 4.9-litre V8 engine variants, and it was brilliant. Then when the noughties arrived, the straight-six engines became even more powerful and the V8 engines became 5.0-litre V10 engines returning economy figures of around 15MPG (at best!) Of course, BMW weren't the only ones at it. Mercedes-Benz's AMG department was proudly churning out 6.2-litre V8 fast family cars, and Audi's RS team were happily producing an estate car equipped with a screaming V10 engine as seen in a Lamborghini. We can look back in hindsight now and laugh at how ridiculous the buyer’s market was for frankly absurdly powerful cars, but at the time, it was completely normal. 

Fast forward to the twenty-tens though, and the world is starting to transform into a very different place with a depressingly new version of normal. All the big manufacturers are, of course, still making considerably faster versions of their best sellers. Yet, on the whole, the excitement has been absorbed by significantly smaller turbocharged engines and a follow-up range of frankly pathetic models with economic-soulless engines with the primary purpose of offsetting the noisy stuff and keeping Greenpeace campaigners happy.  

With hydrogen now on the horizon, electrification becoming the new norm and everything supposedly needing to be (at the very least) a self-charging hybrid, each year the automotive world is getting considerably less exciting. Now, before I get a barrage of emails from environmental campaigners calling me all sorts of nasty names, I'd like to make it clear that I am not against producing greener vehicles. I am quite fond of the electric vehicle movement too. I do not, however, believe pure electrification to be the golden chalice that so many people (and political leaders) seem to claim it to be - more on that later. Furthermore, as a result of the new eco-trends; new cars, even the sporty ones! are getting pretty dull and that's pretty damn upsetting.

Enter stage left: Jaguar SVO.

Jaguar Land Rover, like most manufacturers, have their very own version of BMW M or Mercedes-Benz AMG. They're called SVO (Special Vehicle Operations), and within that department, they have an additional brand acronym; SVR (although this is somewhat confusing, as I can't for the life of me find out what the R actually stands for. - honestly, try and google it!) 

This week, I've been lent Jaguar's Flagship SUV for a Driven Feature video; the 542BHP 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 F-Pace SVR. And boy oh boy has it put a smile on my face! I quite can't work out if the engineers at SVO are not yet aware of the terms 'electrification' and 'hybrid technology, or if they've glanced at the little book of current design trends, flicked through it and then thrown it out of the nearest window - because this thing is somewhat of a performance rebel. A week is not a long time to get to know a car, but I think it's fair to say that I caught on to what the SVR is all about on my first drive and would summarise the overall experience as; hilarious.

 As you might have guessed, beyond the 'start-stop' feature and a driving mode called 'eco', there is absolutely nothing in the way of sustainable propulsion on the SVR. In a world of silent electrification and hybrid tech, the SVR quite literally roars its way through petrol like a 1970s muscle car. The thunderous V8 barks into life at the push of the start button and the quad exhaust gargles on idle and roars its way through the gears taking you from 0-60mph in a staggering 4.1 seconds. 

The question you might be asking yourself is; "in the current day and age... who on earth is this car for!?" And that is a very fair question to ask. For starters, you are probably not going to make many friends at your local Green Party conference, and it is not for the frugal motorist either, a full tank of fuel will get you at best - just over 240 miles - and it isn't a small tank either. If you're the sort of motorist that worries about the next fuel stop or prides yourself on spending "just forty quid on fuel this month" - my advice is to give up on the idea of an SVR right now. Honestly, forget it. I managed to average 17.5MPG in my eight days of driving which included a fair chunk of motorway miles too. 

Now onto the other significant factor, the price. The SVR I had for the week was insured for £90,000 - it isn't exactly what you would call 'cheap' even with a starting price of £75,000. And for the money, if I'm honest, whilst I think the exterior styling of the car is marvellous, I was expecting a little more from the interior layout and a bit more technology too. New flagship cars are almost always packed with tech to show off what the manufacturer can do, but the SVR lacks (as standard) little things like a wireless charging system for your phone which is now pretty much standard in an entry-level VW or SEAT. The infotainment system is clunky to use, and the sound system despite being a premium package isn't quite up to scratch either if you're an audiophile like me. Also, the things we often take for granted in new cars now such as lane assist and cruise control, unfortunately, don't feel as smooth and innovative as the systems you would expect to find in the German equivalent. Fortunately, you soon disregard the little niggles when you hit the start button and 'go peddle' and are politely reminded of what makes this car worth the money; the engine.

The supercharged V8 lump from JLR is - in a word; glorious. I can't remember the last time drove anything remotely large that accelerates as the F-Pace SVR does and we haven't even got to the icing on the cake yet. For me, the best thing about the SVR is the way it deals with corners. The F-Pace SVR doesn't just corner like a car; it goes around bends like a supercar! - This is all thanks to some fabulous tyre technology and JLR's fantastic active damper suspension (as opposed to the usual giant airbag balloons you'd usually expect to find on a big fast SUV). As a driver, you can really peddle the F-Pace. The precise and predictable power delivery from the sublime supercharged powertrain plus some geometric magic makes the SVR an absolute joy to drive fast. 

The F-Pace SVR goes against pretty much everything that a car should be in the modern-day and for that reason alone I love it. Driving the SVR is reminiscent of a performance car from the late nineties/early noughties.

Yes, electrification is coming, and yes, we should focus on greener energy in the long term. But the simple fact of life is this; carbon emissions from all fossil-fuelled cars on the road are a minimal percentage compared to the emissions coming out of our power stations at present - It isn't even remotely close. Also, a quick bit of googling will prove that due to the process of lithium mining and refining plus battery construction and shipping, building an electric equivalent of the F-Pace would produce more than twice the amount of CO2 in comparison to making the petrol-engine car. Oh, and lest we forget the source of almost all electricity that is going into our electric cars? Yep, CO2 burning power stations. 

I firmly believe, whatever happens, the future of cars will always have an element of excitement, but the days of thunderous supercharged V8's and V10's will all too soon be a thing of the past, and I think that is a real shame. 

For true petrolheads, sadly, I do feel the golden era of automotive manufacturing is now behind us. But occasionally something special comes along to surprise us like the F-Pace SVR. If you have the means to go and buy one, for goodness sake, go and get one now whilst you still can - (guilt-free!)

words by John Marcar
photographs by John Marcar & Amy Shore
special thanks to Jaguar Classic Works