Bangkok--28 Aug--Vivaldi Public Relations
Jaguar extended its support as an Innovation Partner to Tour de France 2014 competitor Team Sky by designing, engineering and building a bespoke F-TYPE Coupé high performance support vehicle for the team to use during Stage 20 of the race. The penultimate stage of this year’s Tour de France saw riders traverse from Bergerac to Périgueux, with the final stage 21 concluding on 27 July. In the final classifications, Team Sky riders placed 18, 22, 23, with Spanish rider Mikel Nieve Iturralde finishing particularly strongly in 18th.
Richard Haigh, General Manager, City Automobiles, Jaguar Land Rover’s authorised distributor in Thailand, said, “Jaguar wishes to express its congratulations to Vincenzo Nibali, the overall winner of the 101st Tour de France, and thank each one of Team Sky’s exceptional competitors for their superb finishes across the board. Jaguar is a name synonymous with sporting heritage, ultimate performance and supportive reliability in all manner of demanding conditions; the F-TYPE was an eye-opening and unusual addition to stage 20, and proved the company is a highly capable builder of extremely specialised vehicles.”
Development of this bespoke F-TYPE Coupé by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations follows the successful launch of the Jaguar F-TYPE R Coupé - the most dynamically capable, performance-focused production Jaguar ever built, which went on sale worldwide earlier this year. This unique F-TYPE concept vehicle is based on the F-TYPE R Coupé supplied with the same 550PS/680Nm 5.0-litre V8 supercharged engine as is available to Jaguar customers in Thailand.
Bespoke features included a custom racking solution which carried two of the team's Pinarello Bolide TT bikes. The vehicle exterior was finished in Team Sky's famous livery, with colour ways and other Team Sky graphic design features also present inside the car. Further specifications included a separate electric supply in the boot which provided power to the radios, amplifiers, microphones, horns and televisions which supported communications between Team Sky's Sports Director and the rider.
The car was a one-off and therefore not available for general sale, but serves as an illustration of Jaguar’s tremendous capabilities as a “boutique” builder when the occasion calls. All Jaguars sold to the public may be customised and specified in thousands of possible combinations, depending on the customer’s choice of model, engine, colour, wheels, interior, options and special equipment.
City Automobiles, Jaguar Land Rover’s sole authorised distributor in Thailand, is able to liaise with customers at the point of model selection to discuss full design options and appointments with Jaguar clients. City Automobiles Co., Ltd. has a showroom and cutting edge service centre on Wireless Road and a service centre on Rama III, both provide comprehensive service and repair for all Jaguar and Land Rover customers in Thailand.
Further product and technical information is available at www.landroverthailand.com, www.jaguarthailand.com and facebook.com/thailandlandrover.