Yahoo Autos Jaguar Created an Awesome F-type Rally Car to Hype Up Its Latest Special Edition
The base Jaguar F-type is rather gutless in turbo four-cylinder trim-even with 296 horsepower, it reminded us of a very expensive Mazda MX-5 Miata-but that all seems to be fixed with this convertible rally-car version. A 1.6-inch lift, combined with 16-inch gravel tires, softer springs, and three-way dampers from British rally specialist Exe-TC turn the slowest F-type into a sideways-airborne hoot of a car. That’s something even the 575-hp Project 7 can't beat.
On the rallying F-type, Jaguar replaced the aluminum doors with carbon-fiber closures from the GT4 concept, welded in a roll cage, bolted in a pair of racing seats, ripped out the electronic parking brake for a hydraulic crank, threw on mud flaps, and glued a foursome of auxiliary lamps on the hood. Upgraded four-piston brakes front and rear, plus a limited-slip differential borrowed from the V-6 R-Dynamic, round out the modifications. Engineers claim no changes to the stock suspension control arms.
The F-type rally car is really only here to pitch the Chequered Flag limited-edition model shown above. It's an appearance package on sale in the U.K. and arriving to the United States as a 2020 model. That car features embroidered flag decals on the seats, upgraded contrast-stitched leather, a red hash mark on the steering wheel, red seatbelts, a microsuede headliner, darker aluminum trim, and 20-inch wheels too delicate for foot-high leaps into the air-or into the ground.
Rallying a rear-wheel-drive convertible was more of a natural choice in 1950 if your name was Ian Appleyard, your family owned a Jaguar dealership, and you had just married the daughter of Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons. The couple took one hell of an extended honeymoon. They entered the Alpine Rally with an XK120 convertible and finished that 2000-mile race (and did it again in 1951 and 1952) without penalties, which earned Appleyard a prestigious Gold Cup and some sorely needed pride for Britain’s postwar auto industry. Appleyard's white torch sped across the Netherlands in 1951, winning the Tulip Rally, and sealed another victory in his home country’s RAC Rally in 1953.
This white F-type won’t compete in any FIA rallies, although in V-6 or R trim, it could have a crack at the dry-asphalt RGT class. The era of lifted sports cars racing in top motorsport may be history, but it does lift the spirits to see this one from Jaguar.
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