Jaguar Land Rover Debuts

Published Date: 15th Aug 2014

New reborn Lightweight Jaguar E-Types, the ultimate Range Rover Sport and the US-spec Jaguar F-Type Project 7 all set for Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

 

Jaguar Land Rover is attempting to steal the show at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance by unveiling 3 new high-end models, one of which is the 542bhp Range Rover Sport SVR which became a surprise Nurburgring lap record holder just this week.

Also making a global debut at the California show is the first example of Jaguar’s Lightweight E-Type recreations. A total of six new aluminium Jaguar E-Types are being built to complete the original intended production of 18 cars from way back in 1963. Despite commanding around £500,000 apiece, Jaguar insiders report that demand from wealthy collectors has outstripped supply.

 

New Jaguar F-Type: Project 7

In the meantime, Jaguar are showing off the US-spec version of its latest sports car: the F-Type Project 7. Inspired by the D-Type Le Mans racing car of the 1950s, this roadster uses an updated version of the F-Type R Coupe’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine unit, and delivers 567bhp with 680Nm of torque.

The new Jaguar F-Type has Shaded 80kg off its weight versus a regular F-Type V8, the Project 7 can hit 62mph in a hefty 3.8 seconds and reach 186mph at its best. Jaguar only plan to make 250 worldwide, and expect a few more deposits to have been placed by the end of the Pebble Beach weekend, even at £135,000 apiece.

 

 

New Range Rover Sport SVR

Along with the Jaguar Project 7 will be Land Rover’s fastest road car to date, which will use the same engine as the Project 7 F-Type, and also the ballistic XFR-S super-saloon. The Range Rover Sport SVR has been reported to have lapped the Nurburgring in eight minutes 14 seconds, with Land Rover claiming it is the world record for an SUV model. The car is expected to set customers back around £100,000.

These new performance Jaguar and Land Rover cars are the work of JLR’s Special bespoke performance Operations branch. The new Range Rover Sport SVR and Project 7 are both the work of Jaguar’s burgeoning performance arm, Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), while the rebooted E-Types are the first of many creations from the Special Operations Heritage division.

This in-house special branch will create high-performance versions of a variety of Jaguar and Land Rover models in the near future, and also promote the brand’s great heritage. The Special Vehicle Operations recently purchased a collection of 542 classic cars – containing over 100 Jaguars – to use for international launch days and customer driving experiences.