In 1953, engineers at Jaguar had drawn inspiration from technology from aviation. The result of their research continues to influence designers sixty years later ...

 

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The Jaguar Project 7 celebrates the sporting history of the brand and its seven victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1988 and 1990). It  makes ​​particular reference to the legendary D Type, recognisable by the extension of the drivers headrest  into a long rear fairing. The blue colour, with large white race roundels and  a transverse band  across the bonnet refers back  to cars entered by the Scottish team during seasons 1956 and 1957. These two years  marked the last Le Mans success of the Jaguar team before the  long gap was  broken in the late 1980s when the British manufacturer was back at the front of the sports car scene, taking their last two wins at Le Mans.

Purists will notice the blue tint of the Project 7 is lighter than its original inspiration. "The choice of colour has given rise to endless discussions", confesses the designer responsible for its implementation. "Some advocated British racing green, others blue." The shortened windshield  a few centimetres high, is  in the spirit of the "windscreens" of race cars of the 50s, in contrast, in modern style the  rear spoiler is made of carbon fibre.

Under the bonnet, the Jaguar Project 7 adopts the V8 supercharged engine from the XKR and XFR-S-S, with a power output of 550 hp and torque of 680 N.m. The prototype accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and has a top speed of 300 km/h (electronically limited).

A video presentation lets one discover the design team at work. "The Project 7 was created to drive fast with only one person on board, it's fun," announced the project designer Ian Callum.

For more videos please visit:  lemans-tv.com

Julien HERGAULT / ACO