Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has an expanding portfolio of luxurious high-performance Range Rovers, resolute off-roaders like the new Discovery SVX, and the 592-horsepower Jaguar Project 8 that just decimated the Alfa Romeo Giulia’s lap record at the Nürburgring by a considerable 11 seconds.
“We are less than four years old,” says SVO boss John Edwards. “We take core vehicles and push the boundaries. We like to think these are future classics, cars that in 20 years you’ll say, ‘That was a really special Jaguar or special Discovery.’”
We are at HD Buttercup, a warehouse facility in the LA arts district, where Edwards will host a party for select customers and dealers on opening day of the LA Auto Show. Gesturing toward the nearby display of Jaguar Project 8 super sedans, Edwards says, “We broke the Nürburgring lap record for fastest sedan—7:21 minutes. We smashed the Alfa Giulia’s time by 11 seconds. It’s faster than any BMW ever around the Nürburgring. Faster than the Ferrari 488 GTB.”
Project 8 is one of the most exciting programs at Jaguar since the big V12 Walkinshaw Jaguars of the late 1980s and early ‘90s stuck it to Porsche and Mercedes Group C race cars at the Le Mans 24 Hour. It’s a single-minded car, narrowly focused as a street-legal track day special, but Project 8 is a car to buy, hold, and enjoy. I wonder how this 200-mph weapon of a car will be evolved into a multi-dimensional high-speed touring sedan in a year or two.
But it’s not the only exciting program at SVO. “We announced a single-make series based on the I-PACE [Jaguar’s upcoming battery electric car] to run in conjunction with Formula E and we are producing the race car. Very dramatic looking car. I-PACE is a significantly important car for Jaguar.” I-PACE is entering final validation testing and will be presented to the press in March with production versions planned for late in 2018. Bobby Rahal’s outfit, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, will enter two I-PACE in the e-TROPHY.
SVO is an ideal niche production and engineering group to launch an heir to the Camel Trophy and G4 Challenge. I have friends and former colleagues who went up the Amazon and through Borneo on the Camel Trophy, which was an extreme sports survivalist event long before such terms were coined. “Camel Trophy was legendary. I’ve met maybe 30 Camel Trophy competitors over the years and they are all ‘infected’ with Land Rover,” says Edwards. “So, watch this space and maybe we will be doing something like that in the future.”
SVO is not a contrivance to indulge the whims of executives briefly in the top positions. It’s ability to quickly develop several Range Rover models, Jaguar Project 8 and now the I-PACE race cars speaks to nimble capability. Sure, it’s a job shop for narrowly focused vehicles, but it’s well thought out and deeply staffed. Rotations through SVO for both engineers and assembly workers should be highly prized. I’ve worked in an operation much like this, remaining friends with engineers I worked with 20 years ago, and no matter if you’re an engineer, designer, assembly worker or a marketer, you have more swagger in your stride.
“This year we will sell about 5000 cars, and next year we will increase that number quite significantly. We are investing in future products. We make a significant contribution to profit today and more in the future. SVO is a profit center measured in absolute terms after investment costs.” SVO illustrates how well this portion of the car business has matured, achieving more than headlines and corporate pride, an ego stroke for a few executives. For now, profit is driven primarily by the Range Rover and Land Rover vehicles.
“Range Rover Sport SVR changes for 2018 are significant. More power—575 PS, or 567 U.S. horsepower. More aggressive styling. It’s got a carbon-fiber bonnet, either in exposed condition or painted, depending on how extrovert you are. It’s a major-minor refresh. Playing on a winning formula.” In short, they’ve redone the softskin body pieces and added the carbon-fiber hood. Plus, more power and torque is always welcome. I had a Sport SVR a few years ago, and came away greatly impressed with the well thought out powertrain, how the vehicle puts all that power on the ground. It’s surprisingly quick for an SUV, and satisfying to lean it through mountain corners with a gentle hand.
“Our engineering chief Mark Stanton was driving the prototype and stopped at a motorway service station. He’s quite a tasty driver. Someone came running up and he thought ‘Oh shit, I’ve been driving too aggressively.’ It was a current owner who saw it, clocked it and came up to say, ‘Wow I want it.’ We already have strong demand for that car from our retailers.”
For 2018, the Range Rover SV Autobiography like the “Dynamic” I drove home from Pebble Beach last summer has improved interior materials, and electric-shut rear doors, worked with a pushbutton just like in a Rolls-Royce.
“US, UK, northern Europe, Middle East are the biggest markets. Russia is quite a big market for the Land Rover products. F-type SVR number 1 market is the US. Range Rover Autobiography is big in the Middle East. Looking to the future, my business is like the core business and must have an e-dimension. By 2020 all our cars will be electrified, either PHEV or have an electric dimension.
“We have the e-TROPHY, our single-make series based on the I-Pace will run in conjunction with Formula E. We are producing the race car at SVO. Very dramatic looking car. I-Pace is a significantly important car for Jaguar.”
Will hybrids play a role in SVO? “I can’t tell you about the hybrid because we haven’t decided. Come up a level and look at the opportunity for electric vehicles overall. Interesting opportunity for performance. You think about all-terrain and it’s significant. When you think about luxury vehicles and you think about the silence it’s very attractive.”
