Jaguar V8 sound archived forever in the British Library

Yes, the sound of the gargling supercharged 5.0-litre AJ-V8 that’s been so inseparable from the F-Type (and indeed, many of its high-performance JLR siblings) these past ten years has been immortalised. You might think this a somewhat dramatic move, if not for the fact that it’ll be passing from Jaguar’s present, into its past very soon. From 2025, the marque intends to go all-electric, which means the F-Type in all its current forms, is taking its leave.

It’ll be a sad day, but this kind of recognition does invoke a nod of approval from us. The F-Type of choice for the recording was an R 75, putting out a healthy 575PS (423kW). Recorded in the purpose-built sound chamber at the Gaydon Engineering Centre, it’s something of a full circle moment, given that’s where the F-Type’s distinctive vocals were originally developed.

Multiple recordings were taken, from both inside the cabin and outside the car, getting all angles of the engine’s vocal range. The car ran in the semi-anechoic chamber, running through the gears and revs to best-capture everything the V8 has to give.

It’s strange to think that, while you’re probably never far from hearing one of these at the moment, in a century, the British Library will still have the howl of this engine on file, for our distant descendants to enjoy.

“The F-Type’s supercharged V8 makes a unique sound because of the meticulous optimisation work we applied to the entire powertrain, most of all to the intake and exhaust systems – more than 85 iterations before we first launched the car, and developed continuously ever since,” said Charles Richardson, Jaguar Senior Sound Engineer.

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