Pristine Jaguar F-Pace SVR Edition 1988 for sale

Okay, let’s preempt this missive with an important point: we like the Jaguar F-Pace SVR very much. To call it ‘old-school’ Jaguar seems reductive because everything now qualifies as old-school Jaguar as the firm applies itself wholesale to the concept of ‘new school’ with all the can-do enthusiasm of someone coming up with the recipe for New Coke. But it came across as old school right out the gate because it was very powerful and sounded good and drove with the sort of on-your-side elan that spoke to the decades of expertise that had preceded it. With due respect accorded to the F-Type, it was arguably the last great combustion car that Jaguar built. 

Even so, with our 2022 goggles on – i.e. the ones that permitted no sneak peek at what was coming down the road – it was hard to get fully onboard with the idea of the Edition 1988. We like revelling in the XJR-9’s Le Mans triumph as much as the next man (lest we forget, it was Jaguar’s first win at the 24hrs since the D-Type, and simultaneously stuck one over on Porsche) but purple and gold does not automatically a great car make. Especially when the manufacturer, with its SVO hat on, opted to put the model up for sale at £101,550. 

From whichever angle you looked at it, that was a big number – even allowing for the fact that Jaguar limited production (to 394 examples globally, if our vendor is to be believed) and predicted that it would become the ‘most sought-after F-Pace SVR ever’. Whether or not this is true is obviously open to interpretation; certainly, this one is the most expensive F-Pace currently available on PH, but it’s also true that the model was eventually followed up with a run-out 575 Edition that generated slightly more power and has proven to be no more common than hen’s teeth since its introduction in late 2023. 

Either way, we’re minded to look more kindly on the Edition 1988 in 2025. Firstly, and most obviously, that’s because time and 9,000 miles of use have chiselled 30-odd grand off the asking price. Granted, it’s hardly a snip at £71,995 (not when you can have a mechanically identical 550hp secondhand F-Pace for £10k less) but it does at least mean it occupies roughly the same ballpark. And there’s no denying it stands out from the crowd with its Midnight Amethyst paint and Champagne Gold forged wheels. 

Secondly, there’s the historical aspect to consider. Whatever you think of Jaguar’s transition to battery power (and plenty of us think plenty), there is no question whatsoever that it closes the book on nearly a century of combustive excellence, and it is not like the firm went out in a blaze of performative glory, with the buying public unable to move for fire-breathing special editions. It fizzled out with barely more than a press release as Jaguar solemnly drew a veil over what precisely its factories were doing and left its burliest petrol engines to Land Rover applications. 

This quirk of fate casts a different light on the Edition 1988. Not only is it among the last Jaguars to get the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 in all its sonic glory, but its showy Sunset Gold accents now have a wider meaning: much of what was appealing about Jaguar in the 20th century – its racing heritage, its upmarket sense of sophistication, its rascally character – is contained within. And with its manufacturer warranty valid until November next year, we’d argue there are few better (or more modern) ways of saluting what the brand previously stood for than with a Silk Cut F-Pace.