Feann Torr•28 Mar 2013
NEWS
Jaguar XKR-S GT just the beginning...
Jag's high performance arm, ETO, is working on several hardcore cars, including an "extreme" F-TypeThe new Jaguar XKR-S GT shows how flexible the company's performance ETO – or Engineered To Order – Division can be, and is only a glimpse of what the sub-brand is capable of.
ETO Division Director Pete Simkin told motoring.com.au that expansion plans are underway and, though the GT name probably won't be used again, hardcore versions of the Range Rover Evoque (pictured), Sport and an extreme Jaguar F-Type are in the pipeline.
"I'm not sure about the GT name. What we're presenting here on XKR-S GT definitely shows the direction we could take in the future on F-Type, in terms of how far we could push the product. Or maybe on F-Type we could take it even more extreme.
"It signals our direction, certainly," said the ETO Division chief.
He said the massive carbon-ceramic Brembo disc brakes used on the Jaguar XKR-S GT could play a part in the tricked-up F-Type.
"XKR-S GT is the first car we've launched with these carbon ceramic brakes on and I think we'll be definitely looking to say, in the future, 'do we put this technology on the F-Type?'"
ETO Division works across both Land Rover and Jaguar brands, and Simkin confirmed that top-selling Evoque and new Range Rover Sport models are also under the microscope for performance augmentation.
"We're definitely looking to see, can we make a high performance version of Evoque work? Can we get a business case to work?"
"And the new Range Rover Sport is a fantastically capable car, so you know our job in ETO is to look at all the core products and say, 'can we take it and stretch it a little bit further?' So yeah, we're definitely looking at Range Rover Sport and we'll see if we can create enough interest to create a project around that model."
There are no plans to slap ETO badges on Jaguar or Land Rover models at this stage, but Simkin said there are similarities with Mercedes-Benz's AMG and BMW's M Division.
"I think we're similar in some ways. I think M Division and AMG both focus very much on performance products. We want to cover a span that says 'yeah we do performance, but we're going to do luxury too'.
"We did XJ Ultimate and Range Rover Ultimate so I think with our heritage and history we can also play the luxury and craftsmanship card quite effectively," said Simkin.
Finally, Simkin confirmed that his team of engineers and designers are keeping a close eye on hybrid technology and the high performance outcomes such systems avail.
"As the market shifts and the move towards environmental solutions comes about, we're keeping a very close watch on that and how could we develop the hybrid solutions to maybe give us more performance, so it's something we're looking at in the future."
Does that mean we'll see a Ferrari LaFerrari or McLaren P1 rival, despite the failure of the Jaguar C-X75 to make it to production?
"We've got so many opportunities and so many things that we can do over the next few years, but it's not something we're looking at right now. But who knows? In the future as we grow and develop and learn, anything is possible. It is pretty exciting."
Read the latest news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Tags
Jaguar
Land Rover
Car News
Performance Cars
Prestige Cars
Written byFeann Torr
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
Related articles
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Love every move.
Buy it. Sell it.Love it.
®Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Scan to download the carsales app
Want more info? Here’s our app landing page
App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo
are trademarks of Google LLC.