Jaguar and Land Rover have recently been making use of its new Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) branch to produce some high performance models as seen in the Jaguar F-Type and Range Rover Sport. These intend to replace the R-Sport models previously used by the brand. Set to handle this new division is John Edwards; a man who has spent 25 years with the company while holding several varying director and managerial positions. We had a chat to get an idea of what Project 7 was all about and gathered some insight regarding the SVO division.
Project 7 was never intended to be
The merging of the F-Type with the iconic D-Type began when a designer threw together a drawing of the F-Type while casually passing time. The design was intended to merge the past with the present by taking the legendary three time Le Mans winner D-Type and incorporating it into the F Type’s design. Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum then insisted that this design be tuned into a reality when the concept model was put together for the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2014 for the D-Type’s 60th anniversary. The Project 7 was such a hit that the team decided to put it into a limited production of 250 units.
It was harder to make than you’d think
There were numerous amounts of challenges when it came to perfecting the Project 7 into what it is today. The main goal was for it to retain a performance that was true to its design but with the removal of the roof, rigidity and aerodynamic issues were a cause for concern. As a result, you will find that every panel on the body is different to the concept seen at Goodwood; this took several hours of redesigning and re-engineering the standard F-Type.
It’s a car, not a museum piece
Being limited to only 250 customers it is essential that each one is driven and not stored in a warehouse to be looked at. This is why the Project 7 was reserved for pure driving enthusiasts. What is interesting, however is that a lot of those who ordered the Project 7 are new to the Jaguar clientele which means that Project 7 intends to create an expectation for the driver to create faith in the brand and to develop a personal relationship with each of the 250 owners.
The Project 7 is a one-time initiative
The number “7” is inspired by the total number of wins Jaguar achieved in its competitive years at Le Mans. As a result, this is the only homage needed to accentuate this feat which is why we will never see the Project 7 name again after this. It’s to maintain the rarity and exclusivity of the product and to ensure that its owners have something truly special for years to come. There are possibilities for a squeal to arise (Project 8, 9 etc) but nothing can be confirmed at this very moment.
An open top driving experience is nice but SVO focuses on all aspects of driving
The Project 7 has no fixed roof because it is a homage to the D-Type which shares this quality. What SVO aims to achieve is to create products that satisfy a spectrum of driving experiences. So as a result the SVO division range currently includes the following products:
- F-TYPE Project 7
- F-TYPE SVR
- Range Rover SVAutobiography
- Range Rover Sport SVR