Jaguar Project 7 to inspire future designs

The Jaguar Project 7 F-Type show car that ran at the Goodwood Festival Speed could inspire similar one-off projects in the future, according to a company insider.

Project 7 was designed as a homage to the Jaguar D-type and Jaguar’s seven Le Mans wins, as well as to promote the new F-type and hint at potential extreme version of the car, which could get as much as 650bhp according to some rumours.

As well as a series of retro and racing inspired styling features, Project 7 was powered by a 542bhp version of Jaguar’s 5.0-litre supercharged engine with 501lb ft of torque, as found in the Jaguar XJR and XKR-S.

“As ever, we’ll evaluate the success of a project and see if it’s worth repeating, but it’s already clear that Project 7 has generated a lot of interest for us,” said the insider. 

The insider also played down speculation that Project 7’s name – a homage to Jaguar’s seven Le Mans wins – and colour scheme – a reference to the famed privateer Jaguar Le Mans winners Ecurie Ecosse – were evidence that the marquee was preparing to return to long-distance racing.

“In time there may be a business case for racing, especially with the F-type,” they said. “But as things stand we have enough to keep us busy evolving the existing range and planning new models. Project 7 is a show car built very much around the enthusiasm of our chief designer and proud Scot, Ian Callum.”