There's a bit less shush in the British Library from now on, because it now contains the soundtrack from Jaguar Land Rover's whirring, rumbling supercharged V8 engine.
As Jaguar moves towards a pure-electric future from 2025, it has shared bespoke recordings of its F-Type V8 at full noise with the British Library, enabling "people worldwide – and for all time – to enjoy the sounds of the last combustion-engine Jaguar sports car".
The recordings were made inside the semi-anechoic chamber at the Gaydon Engineering Centre, a soundproof room used to develop and test the refinement and sound quality of Jaguar’s vehicles (also the place where the F-Type’s exhaust note was originally tuned).
The sound you experience driving the F-Type is something we want to be available for generations to come. Archiving it with the British Library allows us to do that
The Ligurian satin black R 75 coupe performed a number of gearshifts and acceleration sprints, composing the 30 and 47-second tracks.
“The F-Type’s supercharged V8 makes a unique sound because of the meticulous optimisation work we applied to the entire powertrain," says Jaguar senior sound engineer Charles Richardson. "Most of all to the intake and exhaust systems – more than 85 iterations before we first launched the car, and developed continuously ever since.
“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.”
The recordings begin with engine startup, signified by the "flare" as the revs rise before settling down to a steady 600rpm idle. From there, the run in the chamber simulates a variety of the car's vocals.
Each time the F-Type accelerates, the valves in the exhaust system open to alter the routing and release the signature roar.
Listeners can hear the upshifts and downshifts through the 8-speed Quickshift transmission, and crackles and pops on the overrun from its quad tailpipes.
The recordings will be available on the Library's website.