[LM24] Jaguar evaluating LMP1 programme

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by Audi Racer

Considering that that is clearly the Wirth HPd arx p1 front end....and quite possibly the rear end of the coupe design....does this mean that Wirth Research has poached Jaguar?

No, it just means that there's a rumour that Jaguar might be considering Wirth's LMP1 coupe. And the picture is a photoshop of the ARX-01e with a (most likely) R18 fin and canopy.

[mountainstar]

Looks awesome and hey I thought everyone said LMP1 was dead....

I don't think gentilozzi will have anything to do with it, unless he runs a customer car.

[Simmi]

A link-up with Wirth would be great. I'm sure it will have some kind of additional tech in there. Again plenty of time to get a solid concept sorted. 2014 seems logical. CAN NOT WAIT.

[Audi Racer]

Wirth's P1 coupe would be an easy way out...And much much more high profile than Aston martin snapping a V12 in a lola Chassis...Wirth has winning experience...They've built good cars(P2) and bad cars(arx-02a). And they've use the wide P1 fronts.....It's sound like a dream partnership for any manufacturer.....

[Jamesy-18]

Let's just hope the global economy keeps up. I'd hate for any of these projects to be abandoned when there's so much good news coming out.

[Adam43]

OT: I've bought and am downloading Autosport for this edition. They are either going to impress or spend their final life...

[jaguarista]

The important thing is that there is balance between diesel and petrol. If Jaguar is officially back only for a serious project and ambitious.
Now it's just a dream ... but imagine a 2014 with Porsche, Toyota, Jaguar, Nissan ... would be great!!!

[AGD]

I think the petrols will be just fine. I think the question in 2014 won't be diesel vs. petrol, but instead will be about various different kinds of hybrid technology. I think anyone who steps in and expects to compete against Porsche, Audi, Peugeot, and maybe Toyota better have a top notch hybrid solution especially the ACO goes back to a consumption formula.

[CTD]

If Jaguar returns to Le Mans, we are going to seriously suffer in team and driver quality in many of the cars.
Teams like Oreca, Pescarolo, Penske, Highcroft and so on are sure to be given some good offers to partner a Manufacture program.

But nice to see Jag back. Unfortunately if this is the Wirth project, that would be the definitive blow to seeing Honda/HPD/Acura back

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by CTD

If Jaguar returns to Le Mans, we are going to seriously suffer in team and driver quality in many of the cars.
Teams like Oreca, Pescarolo, Penske, Highcroft and so on are sure to be given some good offers to partner a Manufacture program.

But nice to see Jag back. Unfortunately if this is the Wirth project, that would be the definitive blow to seeing Honda/HPD/Acura back

Not sure I entirely agree with any of this post. I'd imagine with that many works teams there will be a number of top drivers wanting to get involved. Teams will step up to the plate and run things to the highest of standards if they want to compete.

Also if Honda want to come back they don't have to be connected with Wirth in any way.

[AGD]

A lot of us are assuming that Wirth might be involved with this on the basis of the mockup, but the online Autosport article did not say anything about Wirth. Did the print Autosport article say something about Wirth or is the Wirth thing just pure speculation at the moment?

I'm not so sure if Honda's interest is strong at the moment, but as said above, they can always find another way to design a car if that is what they want.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Alfa Fan

It's got to be a V12 doesn't it!

I'm guessing it will be called the Jaguar XJR-18, continuing from where they left off in the early 90s. I sure hope so!

Most of the wins were with a straight six. The didn't use F-Type in the '80s, so they didn't carry on where they left off last time. They did use a road car engine, so that is a start.

To be consistent with previous serious bids they need to
1. Use a road derived engine.
2. Have new nomenclature.
3. Win.

[jaguarista]

LMP1 hybrid is possible in collaboration with Williams? I remember that there is an agreement between Jaguar and Frank Williams for the production of C-X75 hybrid supercar (250 units with 50 im version "race")

[Simmi]

Originally Posted by AGD

A lot of us are assuming that Wirth might be involved with this on the basis of the mockup, but the online Autosport article did not say anything about Wirth. Did the print Autosport article say something about Wirth or is the Wirth thing just pure speculation at the moment?

I'm not so sure if Honda's interest is strong at the moment, but as said above, they can always find another way to design a car if that is what they want.

Yeah the print edition mentions the rumours of a link-up between the two. Also has quotes from within Wirth saying that although there isn't a link up yet, they would be very happy if there was.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by AGD

A lot of us are assuming that Wirth might be involved with this on the basis of the mockup, but the online Autosport article did not say anything about Wirth. Did the print Autosport article say something about Wirth or is the Wirth thing just pure speculation at the moment?

Both! They mention Wirth and Wirth confirm it is pure speculation.

Warning, what follows is a rant and does not necessarily represent the opinions of Ten-Tenths. (To be honest, it probably doesn't even represent the opinions of the poster when they aren't ranting.) If Autosport started hacking phones they may gain more credibility. We now return you to our normal ramblings.

When Jaguar went to Le Mans in the '50s and '80s it was because someone had seen something good in the product that may be successful. It wasn't picking up someone else's design who was willing to flog it to any manufacturer.

[davehenrie]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

Possibly assurances that if there's enough petrol competition, the equivalence will be far more... equivalent than it has been so far.

But didn't Dave Richards get such a declaration from the ACO before he began building the AMR? I trust the ACO about as much as I trust my US Government to save money.

dh

[AGD]

Originally Posted by davehenrie

But didn't Dave Richards get such a declaration from the ACO before he began building the AMR? I trust the ACO about as much as I trust my US Government to save money.

dh

The ACO is living up to their promises much more than Dave Richards is.

[Asa]

Does this mean the end of the Aston Martin LMP1 project? I really cannot see AM finishing in 12th or 13th and still keep going when Porsche, Jaguar, Audi, Peugeot and Toyota beat them.

I also don't see five or six manufacturers racing each other in the same season. It may happen for 1 or 2 years but definitely it will not last more than 3 seasons.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by Asa

Does this mean the end of the Aston Martin LMP1 project? I really cannot see AM finishing in 12th or 13th and still keep going when Porsche, Jaguar, Audi, Peugeot and Toyota beat them.

I also don't see five or six manufacturers racing each other in the same season. It may happen for 1 or 2 years but definitely it will not last more than 3 seasons.

I think four manufacturers are somewhat likely for 2014 and the following 2-3 years... Audi, Peugeot, Porsche & Toyota or another asian manufacturer.

Audi and Peugeot have proven they´re in it for the long haul and Porsche will not just return for one or two years either and neither would Toyota with no other high-profile programme like F1 looming on the horizon.

What comes after that is too hard to tell but 5 or 6 manufacturers won't be around for long if at all. History has shown that such peaks (like Le Mans 1999) are usually short-lived as only few manufacturers are willing to stick with a series for a long time.

[Ultimo]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Looks awesome and hey I thought everyone said LMP1 was dead....

Its zombie corpse has been reanimated.

The question is: what is the cause of it being respawned? Is it these new regulations, a picking up economy, some other reasons, or a combination thereof?

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Originally Posted by Ultimo

Its zombie corpse has been reanimated.

The question is: what is the cause of it being respawned? Is it these new regulations, a picking up economy, some other reasons, or a combination thereof?

Im going to bet quite a bit of companies are excited about the 2014 regulations with possible Hybrid techology competing for the overall victory. Also, perhaps F1 has become a little too expensive and has become more appealing for Red Bull, Virgin, ect and less appealing to manufacturers like the ones in the VW group or Jaguar/TATA. Plus, no matter what, Le Mans is, well Le Mans. Plus, Le Mans Prototype Racing will finally have a World Championship yet again, and that seems to be what Audi thinks is responsible for more manufacturer interest.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by Ultimo

Its zombie corpse has been reanimated.

The question is: what is the cause of it being respawned? Is it these new regulations, a picking up economy, some other reasons, or a combination thereof?

Well, I think there is a bit of a natural link between Porsche and Le Mans. As for Jaguar, I've read that Ratan Tata is a fan of Le Mans. That's obviously a pretty big advocate right there for Jaguar! Plus, there is a link between Jaguar and Le Mans as well. Both of those two currently have some connection to ACO style racing so maybe it should not be shocking.

I also think the prospect for a wild hybrid battle means a lot to companies who take hybrids seriously like Porsche and Toyota. Having a reputation for being "king of the hill" in the hybrid department probably means a lot to some companies.

Having a world championship is probably a positive thing as well. Anyway, I'm not sure if these manufacturers can accurately guess what it will cost to compete for wins (assuming that is what they want to do, I think we can assume that for Porsche and any factory Toyota effort) at this point. Even more troublesome is that I don't think they can truly estimate what kind of ROI they will get since it is quite unknown what kind of media coverage the WEC will get. The chance of a boom and bust is quite likely, especially if the ACO continues it's current media ineptitude, but we'll see. We could get a couple of really interesting years if nothing else.

[JAG]

Jaguar have a new range of road cars, and plans for a huge increase in production.

Jaguar may have a fine motorsport heritage, but that counts for little when your last major program was twenty years back (ignoring the misguided re-branding of Stewart GP).

As for the interest in P1, the Audi vs Peugeot era will go down as a classic, the quality of privateer options has also never been better.

More than ever racing programs have to deliver more than entertainment, Audi are the perfect example of this philosophy, Le Mans the perfect platform.

[AGD]

Originally Posted by JAG

Jaguar may have a fine motorsport heritage, but that counts for little when your last major program was twenty years back (ignoring the misguided re-branding of Stewart GP).

Well, they were at Le Mans last year, but lets not go there.

As for the interest in P1, the Audi vs Peugeot era will go down as a classic, the quality of privateer options has also never been better.

I agree with you about the Audi vs. Peugeot competition being legendary right now, but I don't know about your statement about the current state of privateer options! Privateer teams did finish 1-2 at Sebring, but aside from that, things have been pretty dismal for privateers in P1 when going up against the might of Audi and Peugeot.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by JAG

Jaguar have a new range of road cars, and plans for a huge increase in production.

That worked well last time.