Everyone wants a piece of Mercedes-AMG. Cadillac has stepped
up its V-Series offerings in recent years, Audi
Sport is gunning for a greater share of the performance segment, and
now Jaguar is ready to take on Germany's finest.
Speaking to Auto Express, Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicles Operations
(JLR SVO) boss John Edwards admitted his skunkworks wants to build its own
bespoke sports car to take on Mercedes-AMG.
“Deep down we want to make our own model,” Edwards said.
“Just look at the success of the [Mercedes] AMG GT.”
Currently, JLR SVO has stuck to enhancing and building
high-performance versions of current production vehicles. Specifically, the Jaguar
F-Type Project 7 and the recently-revealed Jaguar
XE SV Project 8 are the fruits of its labor.
Before SVO takes on a unique model all its own, Edwards
reiterated it wants to get its Project cars just right. Then, it can look at
taking on grander projects. Without going into detail, he hinted the next SVO
Project car may be an SUV, and said the F-Pace and Range Rover Velar each had
"great potential." Considering how popular crossovers and SUVs have
become, it seems like a no-brainer.
As for how quickly the next vehicle will come, Edwards added
the XE SV Project 8 went from sketch
to finished product in just 12 months.
As for what that unique model would be, we would have to
assume a sports car or supercar above the F-Type with a starting price in the
$150,000-$200,000 range, or even higher. Jaguar revealed the C-X75 Concept in
2010 with a carbon fiber composite monocoque chassis, but that car never came
to fruition. Perhaps Jaguar could return to that well by scrapping the carbon
fiber and adapting a C-X75-inspired body to the F-Type's platform for a
limited-edition bespoke car. It would be great to see something like that see
the light of day.
While that's just speculation, it's awfully fun to imagine.
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