2021 Jaguar F-Type R Exhaust Test | Music to a gearhead's ears
Against all odds, England has outmaneuvered America for the most savage and wicked-sounding V8 among the two countries. The 5.0-liter supercharged V8 in the Jaguar F-Type has sounded better than anything since it was popped into the R and SVR. Sorry Hellcats, Coyotes, and small blocks everywhere. Jaguar wins. Ford’s flat-plane crank Voodoo V8 in the GT350 and GT350R might be the only one that can compete on the same playing field.
One drive in the 2021 Jaguar F-Type R will have you asking, how is this legal? The sheer level of noise coming out of those four very real chrome exhaust tips ensures every single head turns towards the Jaguar sports car if it hadn’t already. In fact, it’s so loud that we even struggled to record it authentically. You see, flooring it all but overwhelmed our microphone with the deafening roar. The key to hearing what the actual exhaust note sounds like is listening to it rev at a slower rate of speed. Then there’s the trouble of picking up its glorious overrun full of racecar-like yowls and crackling for days.
No matter how you drive, you’re guaranteed to be the most obnoxious individual around. Revving it up to around 3,500 rpm in first gear then releasing the throttle unloads a scary level of pops and crackles that echo throughout entire downtown blocks. It’s almost like Jaguar figured people would still want to make a stupid amount of noise even if they’re driving along slowly. This car has no chill. Pulling an upshift anywhere past 4,000 rpm prompts a chainsaw-like, ripping braaaaap that will scare small children and the easily-startled everywhere. It induces endless laughter and enjoyment for the driver behind the wheel. The cliche of "it’ll bring out your inner child" perfectly applies to the F-Type R.
Americans can rest assured that they’re getting the most savage version of Jaguar’s exhaust, too. European F-Types have the required gasoline particulate filters that choke the noise, whereas U.S. cars don’t. Sorry, Earth. If you’ve done much reading on the 2021 F-Type already, you’d know that this updated R actually gets the same engine as the previous generation’s SVR. That means it has 575 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. However, the exhaust on the new R is different from the old SVR in that it’s slightly tamer. It’s difficult to fathom a wilder exhaust than the one fitted to this R, but it makes perfect sense to reserve the ultimate noise maker for the ultimate version of the F-Type.
One thing we don’t hear in the banging symphony: supercharger whine. Jaguar has managed to fit enough sound deadening into the vehicle to keep that away from our ears, which is a real shame. We’re not exactly wanting for any more noise, but even just the hint of a whine at full throttle would be appreciated.
There are a few more technical details we’ll point out with this exhaust. For one, Jaguar has integrated a “quiet start” mode (new this year) that reins in the level of noise at startup for the neighbors. Secondly, there are two settings of loudness, switchable via the exhaust button near the gear lever. Even when set to the quiet mode, it’s very loud. However, swapping into the quiet mode on the highway is worthwhile because it removes any drone or unwanted noise from the occupants’ ears. After doing our due diligence of thoroughly testing quiet mode out, we promptly swapped back to the loud mode and never looked back. We imagine owners won't either.
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