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2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail

Just imagine that you’re dying. Not dying like most of us are dying, with a slow fade to black or blinding light or whatever, at some unknown future date. No – just imagine your doctor has given you a hard stop. Let’s say that hard stop is Dec. 31, 2025.

So what are you going to do? Lie there quietly and accept your fate, or rage, rage against the dying of the light?

I know what I would want to do and that’s what Jaguar wants to do, too. The company announced in February that there will be a “reimagination of Jaguar as an all-electric luxury brand from 2025 to ‘realize its unique potential.’” This means that while Jaguar will, we hope, emerge like a phoenix from the cleansing flames of electrification, its powerful V8 gasoline-powered AJ engines will cease to exist.

“A dramatically beautiful portfolio of emotionally engaging designs, combined with pioneering technologies, will allow us to reimagine the Jaguar brand entirely,” Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer Thierry Bolloré said at that announcement. “Although the nameplate may be retained, the planned AJ replacement will not form part of our new focused portfolio.”

Which all means that the fire-breathing F-Pace SVR that I drove recently, with its 550 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of clawing torque, is the last of the breed. If Ford did one good thing for Jaguar during its ownership of the brand at the turn of the last century, it was to introduce this engine with its power and reliability, if not its frugality. It’s impressive, it’s expensive, and it’s making the most of its final tour.

The SVR is the top-of-the-line version of the Jaguar F-Pace, and a considerable improvement on the bottom-of-the-line version I drove earlier this summer. That was a 2.0-litre four-cylinder that started at about $60,000, while the SVR is a 5.0-litre V8 that has a base price of $96,250, before taxes.

Before you pooh-pooh this as just another overpriced status symbol for the privileged 1 per cent, you need to reflect on what’s actually happening these days in the world of internal combustion. Models are coming to the end of their lives – forever. Buyers recognize this and see the value in it. In the United States recently, one dealer posted a “market value adjustment” of US$100,000 on top of a US$182,000 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, because Mercedes is not believed to be putting any V8 engines into vehicles other than the S-class next year, or any other year, ever again.

So – get the SVR while you can, and don’t expect a discount.

For your money, you’ll drive an SUV that’s been updated for 2021, with a new steering wheel, a new 11.4-inch central touch display screen and a new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. They’re very clever and attractive, and even intuitive to use. Here’s hoping they don’t break.

More important for this performance model, though, is the strength and response of the powertrain. There’s now a “Dynamic” drive mode that stiffens the revised suspension and tightens the steering and throttle response, and which even adds a bark to the exhaust. Dial it in, activate the new Dynamic Launch, and you’ll go from zero to 100 kilometres an hour in four seconds flat, yelling all the way. That’s 0.3 seconds quicker than last year’s model, thanks partly to the V8 getting tweaked for an extra 14 lb-ft of torque. It’s probably also helped by the electronic rear differential being retuned for better grip from the rear-biased all-wheel drive.

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The powerful SVR model is slightly less costly than Jaguar’s $99,800 all-electric I-Pace.Courtesy of manufacturer

You won’t really notice many changes on the outside, although they’re there. They’re all the usual suspects: A new front bumper, a larger grille and air intakes, slimmer LED headlights and taillights, and even a longer hood with a more prominent curve.

The end result is a performance SUV to be proud of, and less expensive than the German competition, too. It’s even less expensive than its own Range Rover competition, though Range Rovers are known for their off-road prowess and nobody is going to take this high-end Jag into the dirt on purpose.

Of course, it gets expensive when you put premium gas in it – which is frequently. Jaguar just says “TBD” on its website for official fuel consumption and, strangely, the official Canadian government fuel consumption guide seems to have forgotten that any Jaguar SUVs exist. A trawl through Google, however, brings up a looks-official city consumption of 14.5 litres per 100 kilometres, and a highway figure of 11.0. The combined average is apparently 12.9 litres, which is probably about right. Personally, I was closer to 16 during my time with the tester.

The F-Pace SVR is very satisfying to drive, especially once you’ve added the options that really should come as standard. This particular tester included a $6,100 paint job in “SVO Ultra Metallic Paint in Gloss finish,” which looked just gorgeous and is available in 15 different colours. You can even opt for the $13,000 Icy White satin matte paint if you really want to spend money.

The irony is that this powerful SVR model is slightly less costly than Jaguar’s $99,800 all-electric I-Pace, which may use no gasoline but is a half-second slower to hit 100 kilometres an hour from a standstill and will whoosh its way there with barely a whisper. Much of the visceral appeal of the SVR is in its raw emotion, and that includes the crackle and bark of the exhaust.

So is the F-Pace SVR worth the money? In practical terms, of course not, but realistically? Absolutely. There’ll never be another Jaguar like it, and this SUV is raging, raging against the dying of the light.

Tech specs

2021 Jaguar F-Pace SVR

Base price/as tested: $96,250/$108,350, plus $2,295 freight and delivery, plus taxes

Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8

Transmission/drive: Eight-speed automatic/rear-wheel drive

Fuel economy (litres/100 kilometres): TBA (16.1 observed, premium fuel)

Alternatives: BMW X6 M50i, Mercedes-Benz GLC 63 S, Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, Porsche Cayenne GTS

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Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail

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