Jaguar XKR GT3 by Apex Motorsport
Click to enlarge
Apex Motorsport is developing a race version of Jaguar's new XKR for the FIA GT3 European Championship. The new-for-2006 race series has seven races on the calendar for next year, six of which will earn entrants points toward the championship. Apex is nearing completion of the roll cage that will be affixed to the XK's existing aluminum chassis, and has just released a pair of drawings that show what the finished product should look like.
The development car is expected to undergo its first tests in December, and Apex apparently has a number of potential customers interested in cars for next season's competition. For our part, we like the renderings of the sexy new cat in racing trim, and hope that it looks as good in person.
(Rear view, press release after the jump)
[Source: Apex Motorsport]
Click to enlarge
PRESS RELEASE:
APEX MOTORSPORT REVEAL INITIAL VISUALS OF THE JAGUAR XKR GT3
Apex Motorsport, led by Richard Lloyd, are pleased to reveal the first images of the recently announced Jaguar XKR GT3 race car.
Richard has already assembled an experienced squad to develop the XKR headed up by Team Manager Dave Ward who has recently returned from two years in Australia where he had been managing one of the top V8 teams.
Dave is joined by another ex Apex team member Howden Haynes who is responsible for all design and development work.
Work continues apace at the Buckingham race shop with the build of the first XKR chassis nearing roll cage completion and as Dave said: "The basic all aluminium chassis is already immensely rigid so we're confident that with the addition of the roll cage it will be amongst the best in class."
Stuart Dyble, Jaguar Board Director and Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, Premier Automotive Group and Ford of Europe: "There is a great buzz surrounding the launch of the XKR and this GT3 programme is going to reinforce the sporting credentials of the XK range even further. The XKR is undoubtedly a great looking car and we're very pleased that Apex shares our view that its lightweight body structure is an ideal platform for the series. We're really looking forward to seeing the car run for the first time."
The development car is expected to complete its shakedown test in December before moving on to the official FIA tests early next year.
In only its first year the FIA GT3 European Championship has attracted enormous interest from teams and drivers alike and is set for even more success in 2007 with six Championship races planned in addition to a non championship opening event supporting the Australian Grand Prix in March.
Lloyd and business partner Harry Handkammer are currently in talks with a number of teams interested in running in GT3 next year and are delighted by the level of interest this exciting project has generated already.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
blurger293 3:51PM (11/02/2006)
Not bad, though I still don't generally like the new coupe. This one is very supra-ish.
Reply
SoloTwo 4:18PM (11/02/2006)
Its getting old Moses. Enough with the copy and pasting.
Reply
leo 5:46PM (11/02/2006)
Moses,
STOP posting you dummy
the Jag still has the worst part of it's design - those front ugly headlights borrowed fromteh old cavalier and the taurus oval grill
redesign those adn you may come up with a winner Jaguar
Reply
Gadget 6:09PM (11/02/2006)
Leo
You do realize that the grille on the XK was used on the E-TYPE long long before anything remotely similar popped on the Taurus, right?
Reply
axium 6:31PM (11/02/2006)
On top of which... Taurus and XK were designed by brothers, hence the resemblence.
Reply
RZ 7:04PM (11/02/2006)
Does one wonder why Jag has never made money for Ford? Easy, Ford turned Jag into some sort of a sports coup and with terrible quality at that.
Has anyone inhere seen movie INSPECTOR MORSE have you seen his Jaguar, that was cool. It has style. Today's Jag has Zero, Francly it looks like a Mitsubishi.
But why would one be surprised, Did Ford not all but destroy Lincoln name? And made Volvo muscle car....Volvo has always been a quality first.
And last but not least Land Rover, car that was rated LEAST reliable car in USA....did i meantion that it is a so called Luxury car?
Reply
Andy 7:45PM (11/02/2006)
RZ:
You're wrong. Jaguar quality ratings were at their worst before Ford purchased it. Jaguar seceded from British Leyland, but lacked resources to maintain quality control. Anyone who has owned a 1970s or '80s Jaguar saloon knows they were prone to many mechanical problems, a reason why Jaguar was nearing bankruptcy. Jaguar's time under British/Leyland wasn't one of great reliability, either. Jaguar's long-running sport coupe, the XJS, was problem-prone and it was built long before Ford took over.
Ford's Taurus ranked ahead of its competition in reliability ratings in the 1980s. After Ford bought out Jaguar, engineers looked over a Jaguar sedan and found several times as many problems inside the Jag than in a standard Taurus. Engineers did an overhaul of the operating systems solving (or reducing) long-running mechanical and electrical flaws in the '80s models.
Aston-Martin was in a weak situation in the 1980s before the Ford buyout. Aston production was lucky to hit five hundred per year; under Ford management, Aston hit forty-five hundred and had an exponential increase in dealerships around the world.
The Land Rover was BMW property before Ford purchased it. Land Rover was a loss for BMW, but made profitable by Ford. Reliability ratings differ, as well. Even so, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Bentley, and Rolls-Royce are not known as sources of dependability, either.
Reply