Jaguar has built two F-Type rally cars

Rally cars aren’t known for being… convertible. To hell with tradition, then, because Jaguar has built two special F-Types with a suite of modifications turning them into stage monsters.

The two cars get Jag’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, here pumped up to 296bhp, along with upgraded brakes – grooved discs and four-piston calipers front and back – and proper competition suspension.

The dampers are hand-built and offer three way adjustability, while the springs are softened up because rallying involves rather a lot of rough surfacing. There are also motorsport-spec wheels thrown in, along with a limited slip diff, the all-important bonnet-mounted light pod, fire extinguisher, FIA-spec roll cage, competition seats and a proper hydraulic handbrake.

We’re told the design takes inspiration from Jaguar’s F-Type Chequered Flag limited edition car – itself starting from £62k – though, annoyingly, no price has been offered for the rally cars. Shame. Because they look like a load of fun.

“The opportunity to design a rally car doesn’t come along very often,” explains Jag design boss Ian Callum. “These models are a fitting tribute to the XK 120 and all the great Jaguar sports cars since its reveal 70 years ago.”

Indeed, that old XK completed three consecutive Alpine rallies in the early 1950s.

We’re told the pair of Jags ripped up the Walters Arena rally stage in South Wales, and will be doing drifty things at select events over the next few months.