We saw the Jaguar F-Type, we drove it, and we even witnessed its launch in India. And now the Project 7 concept car surfaces, which essentially is an F-Type, but one which derives inspiration from the Le Mans endurance racecars of yore.
Jaguar has called it ‘Project 7’, and this car will make its debut at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed. It started off as an experiment by one of Jaguar’s designers, Cesar Pieri. He took to the drawing board and fused the words motorsport and F-Type together.
Of course, Jaguar Design Head Ian Callum had to give it the nod first, and only then was the sketch converted into a digital render. From there it got moulded into a clay model, which further went on to give birth to the actual monster, all in the span of four months.
Naming this one was simple. ‘Project 7’ reminds you of how many times Jaguar has taken the overall victory at Circuit La Sarthe in the legendary LeMans endurance race, with exceptional racers like Mike Hawthorn, Andy Wallace and Martin Brundle behind the wheel.
However, it is still the F-Type under all those cosmetic changes, but with some tweaks. The entire roof system was canned to reduce weight and you’ll notice that the rear derives inspiration from the Le-Mans winning D-Type, and the rollover hoop adds to the beauty of the design.
Underneath the hood breathes a 542bhp supercharged V8 engine, which gives out 50bhp more than the range topping F-Type V8S. And yes, it’s quicker too as it does 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds.
There’s a lot of carbon fibre on the 7, like the front splitter, bonnet vent and there’s a bit in the aluminium wing mirrors too. Things like the side skirts, rear diffuser and the fixed rear spoiler remind you of the C-X16 design concept.
The new nose features revised air intakes and the 7 is shod with 20-inch forged alloy wheels named ‘Blade’. Additionally, the 7 gets a helmet holder in place of the passenger seat, and of course, a custom helmet that sits on it.
Of course, the reveal of the project 7 only strengthens the rumour that we can expect to see an R-S version of the F-Type very soon, as this concept car is just a thinly veiled version of what the F-Type R-S would look like.
The 7 will be on display with the other cars namely the XJR, XFR-S and XKR-S GT at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from Friday 12.
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