Driving report Jaguar F-Pace
play of colors
Jaguar F-PACE SVR Edition 1988
© press-inform – the press office
Jaguar upgrades the F-Pace with a special edition. Is it worth spending almost 27,000 euros more for a few extras and a nifty paint job?
Even Obelix was convinced: “They’re crazy, the Brits.” How else to explain that Jaguar is launching an “Edition 1988” for the F-Pace in the middle of 2022. 34 years is not exactly a round anniversary. Perhaps the British automaker’s marketing department simply took the year aliens landed at Stonehenge, divided it by the digit sum of the Fibonacci sequence, and added the Queen’s age.
From Jaguar comes a little more logical explanation for the year 1988: In this year one of the most famous racing successes in its history was achieved. Developed in partnership with Tom Walkinshaw Racing, the XJR-9 LM racer gave Jaguar its sixth out of seven overall victories at the 324 Hours of Le Mans that year. The winning trio of Andy Wallace, Johnny Dumfriers and Jan Lammerts completed 394 laps in the 24 hours, which corresponds exactly to the edition of the 1988 F-Pace Edition. Why, of all things, a racing car with rather limited space serves as the godfather for a rather lavish SUV remains a mystery for the British.
After all, the Jaguar F-Pace Edition 1988 is the most powerful SUV that Jaguar currently has on offer. The 5-liter V8 supercharged engine under the hood gives it 423 kW / 550 hp and a maximum torque of 700 Nm. The sound is correspondingly full immediately after pressing the starter. The urge to move forward puts a big grin on your face: it takes just four seconds to catapult the 2.1-ton Briton from a standing start to 100 km/h. Good that there are comfortable leather seats in which one is pressed. The end of the forward thrust is only at 286 km / h. The price of power: consumption is already officially 12.2 liters per 100 kilometers, which corresponds to emissions of 275 grams of CO2. However, anyone who gets there should ask themselves whether they are sitting in the right car.
And, of course, the 1988 Edition has all the good qualities that characterize the other series: Safe handling, hardly any body roll in curves, directional stability, agile handling, comfortable chassis, lots of space and comfort inside. The eight-speed automatic shifts precisely and is hardly noticeable. Another example: When cornering, the electronics specifically brake the wheels on the inside of the corner, thus helping with steering.
What distinguishes the 1988 edition from the “normal” F-Pace is not just a little more power – it is above all the visual upgrades. The “Midnight Amethyst Gloss” finish was specially developed. She appears black at first, until her amethyst undertones shine through in bright light. The color alone should be reserved for the 1988 edition. Other details of the edition are the big cat logo with gold lettering, air intakes in the front fenders with “Edition 1988” logo or the black painted brake calipers, hub caps and caps on the exterior mirrors. In addition, the interior was a bit more luxurious. And of course there’s a “One of 394” plaque on the dashboard.
Jaguar pays well for all of this. If you want one of the 20 copies of the 1988 edition delivered to German customers, you have to pay at least 138,599 euros gross. That is clearly twice the base price for the F-Pace, which is 67,780 euros. However, the F-Pace SVR, which has the same performance values as the 1988 edition, also costs 111,870 euros. The sales figures will show whether the British are really “crazy”.