Jaguar has a long history with land speed record attempts, having provided an XJ12 and an XJR for both the Thrust 2 and Thrust SSC projects. Bloomin' brilliant they look too, big Jag saloons decked out as fire engines and crammed with extinguishers and the like. Apparently the XJ12 averaged 148mph over a flying mile as well...
A supercharged V8 Jaguar fire engine - nuff said!
Now the XJ is back supporting a land speed record attempt. An XJR will support
Bloodhound SSC
as a Rapid Response Vehicle in South Africa. It's now a two-seat XJR, the rears ditched and a roll cage added along with unique housings for the required fire equipment. It's mechanically standard though, which means just the 174mph will be possible. Don't expect a limited edition anytime soon!
From here testing the Bloodhound parachute deployment system appears like an excuse to thrash an F-Type R down a runway but we're assured it was a vital test. The F-Type was modified with a new window and additional chassis structural supports that the parachute cans were mounted directly to. The combination of a drogue chute (it deploys, inflates and pulls the main one) with the big 'un apparently creates a drag force equivalent to one tonne.
It was the second test for the F-Type in the Bloodhound SSC project following the comms experiment last year. Expect a few more yet ahead of the first record attempt later in 2015.