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Jaguar confirms 575-hp F-Type Project 7 for Goodwood debut

Two days ago, Jaguar announced it had something special in store for the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend. Then yesterday images of that special creation, the F-Type Project 7, leaked out. And now, as promised, Coventry has released the full details on the ultimate F-Type to date. And its even better than we expected.
The production version of the concept revealed last year, the F-Type Project 7 celebrates the 60th anniversary of the D-Type by borrowing some of that legendary roadster's design cues, right down to the rear fin and British Racing Green livery with white racing stripes.
Of course the Project 7 is more than just a retro appearance package. The bespoke speedster packs a version of Jaguar's prolific 5.0-liter supercharged V8 with 575 horsepower - 25 more than the F-Type R Coupe - to make it the Leaping Cat marque's most powerful production car to date. Mated to Coventry's familiar eight-speed automatic transmission, that's said to be enough to propel the Project 7 to 60 in 3.8 seconds en route to an electronically limited top speed of 186 miles per hour. Keeping all that power and pace in check and on the road are such features as carbon ceramic brakes, a full complement of carbon-fiber aero components, electronic differential and brake-based torque vectoring system.

Jaguar Land Rover rescues British off-road tuner Bowler

Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicles Operation (SVO) rescued British off-road tuner Bowler from an uncertain fate. The firm has worked with Land Rover in the past, but it has always been independent. While JLR isn't in an ideal position to make acquisitions, and its recent financial troubles are well documented, Bowler was on the brink of shutting down. The small, 34-year old company had entered administration, and the 26 people it employed risked losing their jobs. Monetary details haven't been released, meaning we don't know how much Bowler was worth, but the firm pointed out it's now fully owned by SVO. It joins SV, Vehicle Personalization, and Classic as the division's fourth pillar. It's too early to tell precisely where Bowler will fit in the JLR latticework, because the initial focus will be on stabilizing the company. It will remain based in Belper, England, and every member of its full-time staff has been offered a position as a JLR employee. Bowler made a name for itself by turning the original Defender into a rally car, and Land Rover said the expertise it acquired during decades of racing is highly sought after, so that's a hint we'll see more hardcore models developed jointly by the two companies sooner or later. The new Defender would lend itself well to the Bowler treatment. The Bowler name could replace the SVX nameplate used on the stillborn, V8-powered Discovery, for example. The tuner's focus on off-pavement performance means we're unlikely to see a Bowler-badged Jaguar, but anything is possible as global demand for SUVs (especially quick ones) continues to rise. What's certain is that, once Bowler is stable, it will grow bigger.

1956 Jaguar D-Type could top $5M at Arizona auction

The Jaguar D-Type is an essential element of the marque's history, one of its most successful racing cars, and one of its most beautiful creations. Chassis number XKD 604, pictured here, was the first of six long-nose Jaguar D-Types made for the factory team in 1956. They were, however, far from ubiquitous, with only 53 made for private customers, and another 18 campaigned by the factory racing team. More advanced than the examples that preceded it, this one was equipped with a de Dion rear suspension and fuel injection. It didn't have much of a distinguished racing career to speak of, passing from the factory to the Ecurie Ecosse team in Scotland which kept it in storage for years. After the team's closing, it passed through the hands of two British owners, undergoing a full restoration at the hands of the latter, before trading between two US owners. Although precise pre-sale estimates are available by request to interested parties, RM confirmed to Autoblog that this example "is expected to fetch more than $5 million when it crosses the auction podium in January." According to Sports Car Market, last year the same auction house sold a customer D-Type in Paris for nearly that much. However at its London auction in 2013, another works example failed to sell despite a high bid of over $6.2 million. If this one takes in more than that, it'll set a record for the type. If classic Jaguars aren't your thing, RM also has lined up an enviable roster of Ferraris. Included among them is a yellow '71 Daytona (estimated to fetch over $700k), a silver '91 Testarossa (~$250k), a rare yellow '95 F512 M (~$450k), and a pristine 2011 599 SA Aperta (~$1.3m). Porsche fans will want to check out the '76 911 Turbo (~$250k) and the soft-window '69 911 S Targa (~$225k). With the auction not set to take place until January 28 at the Arizona Biltmore, you can bet there'll be a good number of additional lots consigned between now and then.