Thursday, September 4, 2014
Jaguar F-type Project 7 revealed
The spectacular Jaguar F-type Project 7 super-roadster – toast of last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed – has been put into limited production. Jaguar is by using the car like the centrepiece to the launch of their new Special Operations (SO ) division whose job will certainly be to supply a suite of cars and services specifically made for the Jaguar faithful. The division, eventually intended like a type of cross between Bentley’s Mulliner and Mercedes’ AMG, is headed by former Land Rover brand boss John Edwards, who has got spent the previous nine months defining its structure, staffing and activities. The production-ready Project 7 flagship adapts the F-type’s contemporary styling and hardware to produce a car that recalls the all-conquering Le Mans-winning D-type, whose 60th anniversary the firm is celebrating in 2012. The ‘7’ signifies Jaguar’s pride at having won Le Mans seven times because the early 1950s, although bosses say that there‘s no plan for the imminent racing return. As much as 250 examples will certainly be built, and regular Jaguar dealers will sell them at £135, 000 each. By having an electronically governed top speed of 186mph and also a 0-60mph sprint time of just 3. 8sec, this‘ll be perhaps one of the quickest production Jaguars ever. This latest, production-spec Project 7 looks very much like last year’s concept but differs in nearly every detail and surface due to its got to adjust to production car legislation and to keep aerodynamic stability as much as its governed 186mph top speed. Production models will certainly be hand-built during 2015 from the new JLR sub-division called Special Vehicle Operations (SVO ) and headed by Paul Newsome, the ex-Lotus, ex-Williams engineer who had been chief from the recent C-X75 hybrid supercar project. The Project 7 idea was born about 18 months ago, coming from the pen of the young JLR designer, Cesar Pieri, inside the group’s Whitley design studio. The sketches caught the eye of design boss Ian Callum, who gave them the go-ahead because he already knew the company was attempting to find a car to wow the crowds at Goodwood 2013 – which the initial Project 7 subsequently did inside the hands of Jaguar engineer and master wheelman Mike Cross. The enthusiastic reaction towards the car, not least from potential buyers, convinced Edwards and Co that Project 7 would make an ideal flagship to its new division. Essentially, the car is definitely an F-type roadster relieved of their heavy hood mechanism and fitted with lightweight seats that carve a cool 80kg from the kerb weight and leave it at a decent 1585kg. Compared using the regular roadster, Project 7 has a brand new front bumper and splitter, a cut-down windscreen, a prominent fairing (incorporating a rollover bar ) behind the driver’s head, new side skirts and diffuser and also a deck-mounted wing. The interior is obviously F-type, but there will be all-new carbonfibre-backed quilted seats, the steering wheel is Alcantara-covered and a few clever colour highlights give the car a character of their own. Each example gets a uniquely numbered plaque located involving the seats and signed by Ian Callum. The engine is definitely an improved version of Jaguar’s familiar supercharged 5. 0-litre V8. Peak power is 567bhp, available at 6500rpm, and peak torque is 502lb ft from 2500-5500rpm. Power flows towards the driven 20-inch rear wheels (and the optional fat Continental ContiForceContact tyres ) first via a specially modified version of ZF’s eight-speed automatic gearbox (controlled, as altogether Jaguars, by shift paddles ) after which to some rear-mounted electronic limited-slip differential. Project 7’s switchable exhaust (silenced or straight-through ) has four matt-painted tailpipes, ceramic-coated to ensure that they don’t set fire towards the nearby diffuser. The chassis gets special, SVO-manufactured front suspension uprights to extend negative camber, plus modifications towards the front top mounts and fatter anti-roll bars front and rear. The entire product is height adjustable at both ends, and Project 7 now has spring and damper rates tailored to its special duties. The typical adaptive dynamics control one‘s body alright, engineers say. The brakes include carbon-ceramic rotors – 398mm in diameter in the front and 380mm behind – with six-piston and four-piston calipers respectively. These are generally usually offered being an option on regular V8s, but Project 7 gets them as standard. Electronic co-operation between these, the electronic diff and also the car’s built-in stability control provides helpful brake-controlled torque vectoring (to optimise traction and turn-in ) and increases steering feel, engineers say. Compared with a typical F-type V8, drivers should expect firmer damping, more steering weight, faster gearchanges and quicker throttle response. Due to its extensive aero modifications, the production Project 7 develops 177 per cent more downforce at top speed when compared to a standard F-type convertible. In production, the car is now an effective two-seater (it was eventually originally proposed as transport for just one ) and there‘s also a temporary fabric roof that clips towards the convertible’s header rail and can also be stowed inside the car’s notably shallow luggage compartment around 200 litres’ capacity. Head of Special Operations John Edwards expects lively demand to the production Project 7, although he is well known regarding his no orders yet because the thought is merely being announced soon. He expects to sell cars in South Africa, Australia, Russia, Brazil and Asia-Pacific along with the US and Europe. US specifications will differ just a little from the remainder and can be revealed in late summer. Deliveries will start in mid-2015 and ought to be complete inside the year. Read more Goodwood Festival of Speed news. Obtain the latest car news, reviews and galleries from Autocar direct within your inbox every week. 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