Team Sky’s hopes of a third consecutive Tour de France win were dashed in the Alps when, having already seen team leader Chris Froome crash out, Richie Porte lost time on his rivals.
But while the yellow jersey may now be out of reach for the British-based team, there is still plenty to play for in the final six stages of the Tour.
And the team will have the fast car on the road during stage 20 after Jaguar produced a bespoke F-TYPE Coupé for the 54km individual time trial from Bergerac to Périgueux on Saturday (July 26).
The one-off car, developed by Jaguar’s Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations department, has the same 550PS/680Nm 5.0-litre V8 supercharged engine as the production F-TYPE Coupé, which went on sale earlier this year.
Bespoke features developed specifically for Team Sky include a new racking solution to carry two Pinarello Bolide time trial bikes, and a separate electric supply in the boot to provide power to the radios, amplifiers, microphones, horns and televisons which support communication between staff and riders. The vehicle is finished in Team Sky’s blue and black livery, which also features inside the car.
Sir Dave Brailsford, team principal at Team Sky, said: “Jaguar is an iconic British brand that has been an integral partner for Team Sky for over four years.
“We have already benefited from their high performance credentials and expertise in technological capabilities and engineering innovations, particularly with the recent development of the Pinarello Dogma F8.
“This F-TYPE concept is a world class vehicle that will help get the best out of the team on the TT stages.”
Jaguar already supply Team Sky with a fleet of Jaguar XF Sportbrake cars, like the one they unpacked in this infographic to showcase what goes into a team car during a Grand Tour.
Check out the making of Sky’s F-Type Coupé on our YouTube page.
