Jaguar's turbo challenger

After many months of rumour, Jaguar’s successor to the Championship-winning XJR-9 has made its race debut. The XJR-10 is powered not by the faithful 7-litre V12, but by an all-new turbocharged 3-litre V6 designed by JaguarSport, the TWR/Jaguar joint-venture which runs the Castrol-Jaguar team in the American IMSA series.

Known as JRV6, the engine is an all-alloy four-valve twin-cam of 90deg, with a turbo for each bank, and is said to have been designed with possible road applications in mind. No power figures have been given, but at Lime Rock at the end of May the XJR-10 finished second, indicating that it is easily in the same league as its 650-plus bhp rivals.

Tony Southgate has designed an even lower car to carry the more compact engine, the composite monocoque boasting a smoother nose, slimmer engine cover and larger ground-effect tunnels past engine and transmission. Rear brakes and dampers are entirely shrouded within the 18in wheels, keeping the underbody flow clean. The front uses conventional wishbones with inboard springs and dampers.

For the rest of this year Tom Walkinshaw plans to run a similar car as a development vehicle in the World Sportscar Championship, starting with Brands Hatch on July 23.