Jaguar has an enviable sports car heritage stretching all the way back to the SS 90 of the 1930s, but the British marque is perhaps best known for the gorgeous E-Type of the 1960s.
While that lineage continues to some degree with the current F-Type, there are big changes ahead as Jaguar plans to reinvent itself as an all-electric car company from 2025 onwards.
And with that comes the news that the brand will build its last petrol-powered sports car in 2024.
To commemorate, Jaguar will be producing a special edition F-Type called the ZP Edition.
Just 150 cars will be built for the world, and only two of them are destined for South Africa, in Coupe form. Select markets will also get the option of a Convertible.
Featuring unique exterior and interior touches curated by JLR’s SV Bespoke division, the special edition cars are powered by the company’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine that thrashes out 423kW and 700Nm.
With power going to all four wheels through an eight-speed autobox, this Jag can sprint from 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds.
The edition takes inspiration from the race-winning ‘Project ZP’ cars that marked the E-Type’s successful race debut in 1961.
Those early competition cars inspired the F-Type ZP Edition’s two colour schemes.
To that end, buyers will get to choose between Oulton Blue Gloss exterior paint with a Mars Red and Ebony interior combination or a Crystal Grey Gloss exterior with Navy Blue and Ebony cabin.
This is the first time these colours have been offered on an F-Type, but fittingly they did feature on the E-Type Project ZP Collection restoration cars that were announced earlier in 2022.
The new F-Type editions are kitted with unique Gloss White race car-style roundels on the doors, which are hand painted, and the front grille surround gets the same hue.
Gloss Black features on the exterior accents as well as the brake callipers and the Diamond Turned 20-inch alloy wheels.
F-Type ZP Edition branding can be found on the fenders, as well as inside the car, on the tread plates and dashboard, and each car receives a “One of 150” SV Bespoke commissioning plaque.
“F-Type has captivated sports car drivers for more than a decade, just as the E-type did five decades before it,” said Jaguar MD Rawdon Glover.
“The ZP Edition is the ultimate celebration of that lineage, joining an illustrious roster of heritage-inspired collector’s editions including the 2015 Project 7 and 2020 Heritage 60 Edition.”
The petrol-powered Jaguar is clearly going out with a bang, but will there be an electric sports car in the brand’s future line-up?
That much remains unclear for now.
Autocar reports that the company is working on three new electric models, in the form of a large SUV to take on the Bentley Bentayga, as well as a sportier touring saloon car and a large executive sedan.
All will be built on a unique electric platform, the UK publication said, with outputs “not lower” than 450bhp (335kW) for each of the models.
It’s the end of an era indeed.