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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 to finish building six remaining Lightweight E-Types

Back in February of 1963, Jaguar set about making a small run of lightweight E-Types. It recrafted the bodywork out of aluminum, shoehorned in a 3.8-liter straight-six with an aluminum block, stripped out the interior, removed the chrome trim and fitted lighter-weight side windows. The result was a 250-pound reduction in curb weight and a commensurate increase in performance, especially evident on the race track. The company originally set about building 18 examples, but only managed 12. The remaining six were allocated chassis numbers, but were never built. That is, until now.
Fifty years since the last of the original 12 lightweight E-Types were completed, Jaguar has announced that it is preparing to resume production and complete the final six examples. The company has assigned its top craftsmen to the job, who will build the half-dozen continuation Lightweights to the same exact specifications as the original dozen. Former sister-company and perennial arch-rival Aston Martin undertook a similar task (or at least authorized Zagato to do so) when it sanctioned four continuation examples of the original DB4 GT Zagato based on original chassis numbers in 1988, and another two based on original body shells and stock DB4 chassis in 1992.
Jaguar has not yet announced pricing and availability for the continuation Lightweights, but the first old-is-new example is set to debut this summer, whereupon Coventry will release further details. You can bet, though, that each one will be snapped up rather quick at just about any price the British automaker cares to put on them.

Ford's J Mays feels vindicated by Fusion reception

It's hard to think back now, but the same man overseeing the design of the 2013 Ford Fusion also presided over a rather lackluster period in Ford design, highlighted by vehicles like the Five Hundred and Freestyle. With the redesigned Fusion receiving high praise, J Mays tells Automotive News that he feels vindicated from criticisms suggesting he's not a daring enough designer.
When Mays took over as lead of design in 1997, he admits to having quite an ego ("My head would barely fit through the door some days. I've long since gotten over myself") and the workload to match. With the Blue Oval's portfolio full of premium brands like Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo at that point, along with the bread-and-butter Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, Mays certainly had quite the challenge.
It was in the mid-2000s that Mays took over just the premium brands, and took on the new title of Chief Creative Officer. At the time, Mays endured some criticism for looking backwards to retro styling, rather than setting a new standard for American car design - criticism that Mays says he is free from with the all-new Fusion.