Jaguar's new XKR Coupe will be developed to race in the FIA GT3 Euro sports car Series from 2007, by English company Apex Motorsport.


Apex Motorsport, whose recent successes include winning Le Mans in 2003 with Bentley, is being relaunched with this exciting project. The team headed by Richard Lloyd now includes Lloyd's new partner Harry Handkammer, a long time friend and top Britcar racer.

"It was obvious to us that the Jaguar name was missing from the list of GT3 contenders, and we aim to put that right," said Lloyd. "We believe the new XK has huge potential, and we plan to have at least the required six race cars ready for the first event in the 2007 season." Development of the aluminium bodied, supercharged V8 engined Jaguar will commence immediately at Apex's Buckingham race shop.

The Apex race activities are independent of Jaguar - this is not a factory motorsport programme - but in accordance with FIA GT rules Apex has the premium brand's blessing to compete.
Stephane Ratel, Chairman of GT3 European Championship organising company SRO Motorsports, welcomed Jaguar to the burgeoning FIA GT3 grid, saying, "Jaguars in GT3 will further strengthen the appeal and excitement of the series, and we very much look forward to seeing them in the paddock and on the track."

Wallis Dumper, Managing Director of Jaguar in New Zealand says, "This international initiative is fantastic for motor race enthusiasts as it will reconnect Jaguar with the racing heritage we all know and of particular interest is the fact it's based on the sustainable production sports car level. So Kiwi's will once again be able to witness coverage from the European race circuits and maybe even recall the XJS Jaguar Group A touring car era or even the Denny Hulme Mark 2's of the 60's. As keen motor sport observers we know many Kiwi Jaguar owners and enthusiasts will join us in celebrating this natural extension of the Jaguar brand experience."

The XKR road car will be launched in New Zealand mid-2007.

I'm excited.

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.”

- http://www.fiagt3.com/newsitem.php?key=99

The XKR GT3 retains the aluminum body of the production XKR.

http://seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2007-Jaguar-XKR-GT3.htm

At the Autosport International 2007 show

Left to right:

Harry Handkammer, Business Partner

Howden Haynes, Design/Development/Engineering (Haynes was Allan McNish's engineer with the Audi R10 last year)

David Ward, Project/Team Manager

Richard Lloyd, Team Principal

[B]Technical Specifications not yet official[/B]

The definitive specification will be revealed following the official FIA track tests, the first of which takes place at Monza on February 22/23.

Engine:...................Supercharged 4.2 litre, V8 petrol

Transmission:..........Hewland 6-speed sequential trans-axle

Steering:...............Electric hydraulic power assisted

Clutch:..............Alcon 140mm triple-plate carbon/carbon

Suspension:............4-way adjustable coil over dampers

Brakes:

Alcon 6-pot front calipers on 375mm discs

Alcon 4-pot rear calipers on 330mm discs

Wheels and tyres:

OZ Racing 18 x 11 inch rims front and rear

Michelin 11 inch racing tyres front and rear

Body:........Aluminium with integrated T45 steel roll cage

Length:..............................4900mm

Width:...............................1892mm

Wheelbase:...........................2752mm

Maximum power:.......................475+ bhp

Maximum torque:......................TBA

Power to weight ratio:...............TBA

Testing completed at Silverstone

Another team car has been sold.

http://www.fiagt3.com/newsitem.php?key=115

XKR GT3s denied entry to Silverstone races

The XKR GT3 has not been homologated in time.

http://www.the-paddock.net/content/view/241480/49/

From Silverstone