The new and rather lovely Jaguar RSR XKR GT racer will make its European debut at this week's Autosport International show. It's the only chance you'll have to see the car in Blighty before it heads back to the US for the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) championship season.
It might have been a while since the 1980s Group C glory days of the XJR-9, and even longer since the 1950s Jaguar domination of Le Mans, but it's good to Jaguar still playing its part in sports car racing.
The 550bhp ALMS Jaguar is built to GT2 sports car regulations, and has been jointly created by the Jaguar engineering and design teams in Coventry, and the Michigan-based RSR team.
"Our designers and engineers have taken the best of our standard road-going XKR and with Paul Gentilozzi's motorsport expertise created a first-class competition car," says Mike O'Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar. "Paul and his RSR team are confident that they can compete against some serious competition in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS)."
The XKR GT will share the Jaguar stand at the Autosport show (which shares NEC-space with our very own PistonHeads Performance Car Show) with the 225.675mph Jaguar Bonneville XFR prototype.
Spec-fiends can check out the technical details of the Jaguar RSR XK below:
Jaguar XKR GT2 – technical highlights
CHASSIS Jaguar XKR bonded and riveted Aluminium monocoque, with RSR steel reinforcements and safety structure.
ENGINE Jaguar AJ133 5.0 Litre V-8
TYRES Yokohama racing slicks
Engine Management Bosch
Data Acquisition Motec
SPARK PLUGS Bosch
BRAKES Brembo 6 Piston Front Calipers on 380mm discs / 4 Piston Rear Calipers on 350mm discs
SHOCK ABSORBERS Ohlins DR4
TRANSMISSION 6 speed Hewland CST Transverse Sequential Transaxle
WHEELS BBS 18” 3 piece
WEIGHT 1245 kg / 2744 lbs
LENGTH 4790 mm / 188.5 inches
WIDTH 1996 mm / 78.5 inches
HORSEPOWER Approximately 550
RPM 7000
MAX. SPEED 180 MPH