Radford Type 62-2 John Player Special takes the coach-built sports car even higher

Radford revealed its Type 62-2 a month ago, and today the coach-building company is releasing its first 62-2 variant. It’s simply called the JPS, short for John Player Special. YouÂ’d be able to guess that just by looking at the car, though, as itÂ’s completely done up in the traditional John Player Special black and gold livery.

This JPS Type 62-2 isn’t just a livery either. It’s the most extreme version of the car, even more so than the Gold Leaf version of the standard Radford that improves matters over the “Classic” model. Engine output sees a sharp turn upwards from 500 horsepower to 600 horsepower in the JPS. It’s still using the 3.5-liter supercharged V6 you’d find in the Lotus Evora (an engine Lotus borrows from Toyota), but this one is heavily modified. Radford says it uses upgraded pistons, new connecting rods, camshafts and an upgraded supercharger. Plus, it’s running a more aggressive engine calibration.

Hauling it to a stop are upgraded brakes — Radford uses carbon ceramic rotors and AP calipers. New and larger carbon composite wheels (18-inch front and 19-inch rear) from Dymag are fitted and wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

Plenty of appearance and aero changes are made to separate the JPS from the other Type 62-2s. Radford says it’s either lightly massaged or made big changes to every area of the bodywork. You’ll notice a giant new splitter up front, larger side air intakes to cool the more powerful engine and a more extreme diffuser in back to produce more downforce. We’ll also note that the JPS “livery” is not a sticker package; it’s all painted on, requiring hours and hours of work by hand.

Pricing for the JPS hasn’t been revealed, but it’s guaranteed to be expensive. This special model will be sliced out of the total production of Type 62-2s. Only 12 of the 62 total cars will be the John Player Special cars, so they’ll be incredibly rare — Radford says it’s currently taking build slot applications, so you still have a shot at buying one. If you want to see the JPS in person, Radford says it will be on display at this year’s Goodwood Revival.

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By Zac Palmer