The Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 is a tribute car that pays homage to the brand’s most storied racing moments.
You see, 1988 was a very good year. Coming to America, Die Hard, Beetlejuice, A Fish Called Wanda, and Rain Man were all in the theater. Readers took in Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, and Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye. On the radio (sort of) NWA’s Straight Out of Compton, Jane’s Addiction’s Nothing Shocking, Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, and Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation signaled the next chapter in Hip Hop and the advent of “alternative rock.” Jaguar was making a bit of music as well. Its V-12 powered XJR-9 LM howled down the track to win a pair of the most difficult races in motorsports: 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona.
The Silk Cut-sponsored car (a defunct cigarette brand), driven by Andy Wallace, Johnny Dumfries, and Jan Lammers, won six times that year, making it one of Jaguar’s most successful on the track. It’s a unique offering from the brand’s SV Bespoke division inspired by the triumphant XJR-9 LM’s livery.
“The result is a winning combination of colors, textures, and features that celebrates sporting success,” says Mark Wilkes, Jaguar’s director of vehicle personalization.
Power and Performance
The performance specs of the Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 are identical to the beastly F-Pace SVR, Jag’s top-of-the-line iteration of its mid-sized SUV. The five-liter supercharged V-8 puts out 542 hp and 516 ft-lbs of torque. The 1988 Edition will speed off to 60mph in an advertised 3.8 seconds.
The tender fields and lush vineyards in Champagne, France, offer both a dramatic landscape for a drive. They also have some truly splendid roads. Pound the throttle and you get an honest to goodness barbaric V-8 yawp. It’s loud enough to scare farmers a few vineyards away.