Jaguar X-Type GT ?

[SFonseca]

I need some help...
Someone can tell me what is this? Jaguar X-Type GT Racing Concept? Is it a Touring car or a GT car? I guess, it could be Rocketsport Jaguar for the next season...


Take a look:
http://www.bilsport.se/artikel_bild_...if&avdelning=8

[egor]

It looks like something done along the lines of the British Touring Car regs, with those flared arches and the side bodywork a quarter up the door.
But Jaguar are ment to be backing a GT effort in some form or another.

[SFonseca]

Originally posted by egor
But Jaguar are ment to be backing a GT effort in some form or another.

Where did you heard this rumour?

[Graham Goodwin]

The Jaguar GT project, if it happens, is backed by Paul Gentilozzi of Rocketsports fame. The car would be an XKR to ALMS GTS specifications.

The X-Type looks rather more like a "styling concept" than a serious race car.

[rdjones]

It will be great to see Jaguar back at Le Mans, shame it is not in the LMP900 class............

[KC]

The car in he pic has a Rocketsports logo on the windscreen. Rocketsports raced a Jaguar in the US Trans Am series. They may have rebodied a tube chassis Trans Am into a X-Type body. It certainly looks like an excellent tourer.

[cybersdorf]

Originally posted by KC
Rocketsports raced a Jaguar in the US Trans Am series.

Just to clarify, Rocketsports (and others) raced a Ford-engined, Jaguar-bodied tubeframe car that really had nothing to do with the XK and will not be eligible for the ALMS. they'd have to develop a new car from scratch. Also, the XKR engine is supercharged... - not the concept of choice in modern race engine preparation.

And, right now Jaguar is designated as Ford's F1 campaigner whereas Aston Martin is doing... - nothing. DB7, anyone???

[Lee Janotta]

That's clearly a touring car, probably for BTCC or ETCC. Can you imagine a gussied-up Mondeo at LeMans?

Ford's said repeatedly that Aston Martin won't be racing in the forseeable future. Sad, but it's hard to fault their logic: They already sell every Vantage they make.

[NME]

Jaguar Reveals A Racier Side To The X-Type At SEMA

USA - Jaguar North America is today unveiling a dramatic ‘Racing Concept’ version of its all-wheel-drive X-TYPE at the 2002 Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA) annual trade show. The bold, race-inspired concept has been developed to test the potential of Jaguar’s X-TYPE sports sedan as a ‘project car’ for the enthusiast market, as well as continuing to explore options for Jaguar racing in North America.

"The X-TYPE Racing Concept sends a clear message to enthusiasts that motorsport is a vital, and integral part of our DNA," said George Ayres, Vice President, Marketing, Jaguar North America. "Since its introduction a year ago, we knew the X-TYPE would provide the perfect platform from which to style a visually-dramatic race-bred concept," added Ayres.

With design inspiration taken from Trans-Am and the European DTM race series, the X-TYPE Racing Concept was built by Rocketsports Racing at its Lansing, Michigan shop using a 3.0-liter V6 all-wheel drive Jaguar X-TYPE as a donor vehicle.

Paul Gentilozzi’s Rocketsports Racing was a natural choice for the project. The team competes in the Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup using a Jaguar XKR-bodied racecar, and has considerable experience in racecar fabrication and development.

"We used the principles we’d learned creating our XKR-bodied Trans-Am cars to create a racing X-TYPE. This aggressive wide-body look also reflects a growing number of the project cars coming out of the import car scene," explained three-time Trans-Am champion Gentilozzi.

Rocketsports’ team of racecar engineers began by widening the X-TYPE’s track by over eight inches and fitting three-piece, center-lock BBS wheels. These 18-inch race alloys are similar to the ones the team used on its XKR during February’s Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race when Gentilozzi won his GTS class. They are fitted with the latest Michelin Pilot race tires, with a 345/18-section at the front, 385/18 at the rear.

To give the concept the kind of stopping power that matches its anticipated grip, 14-inch front, and 13-inch rear ventilated racing rotors clamped by six-piston Brembo racing calipers were added. They are fitted with race-spec Ferodo high-friction brake pads.

Modifications to the body included the addition of race-style wheel arches joined longitudinally by aerodynamic rocker box sections. At the front, there’s a deeper spoiler incorporating a lower splitter, while at the rear a full-width, racing-style wing is mounted on the rear deck. Rocketsports also fabricated a new exhaust system, featuring dual pipes emerging from each side of the rear.

The X-TYPE’s production grille openings and headlight locations were unaltered for the concept. However, to stay true to Jaguar’s R-Performance styling cues, the upper and lower front grilles use a chrome mesh similar to that used in the supercharged S-TYPE R, XJR and XKR models.

[cybersdorf]

"The X-TYPE Racing Concept sends a clear message to enthusiasts

"...that we can slap a TransAm wing on an X-Type, flare the wheel arches a bit, and think this will double for a racing program."