Gentilozzi and Jaguar RSR Racing tour England

Paul Gentilozzi on a "flyer" as he crests the top of the hill at the end of Rahal Straight before entering the Corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the ALMS final race of the 2009 season. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

Gentilozzi and Jaguar RSR Racing tour England

GT racing legend and former co-cheif executive of the ChampCar World Series, Paul Gentilozzi is taking a break from a gruelling development program to feature the XKR in the largest dedicated trade motorsport exhibition in Europe. The race car will be on display at the Jaguar booth alongside a production model XKR, XFR, and the fastest Jaguar ever – the Bonneville XFR prototype, which Paul drove to 225.675 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 2008.

Jaguar asked the Michigan-based RSR team to help create a race car to compete in GT2 racing in 2010. The Jaguar engineering and design teams, based in Coventry, have jointly developed the car from a standard road-going XKR with the RSR team.

Paul Gentilozzi piloting the new Jaguar RSR XKR GT through the "Corkscrew" turn at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Image Credit: Scott Coursey/RallyBuzz

The new Jaguar RSR racing car makes its European debut this week at the 2010 Autosport International at the NEC in Birmingham, UK. It is the first and only chance for the public to see the stunning new XKR GT in the metal before it heads back to the US to compete in the entire 2010 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) in North America.

The competition car uses the standard Jaguar XKR lightweight aluminum monocoque together with additional steel reinforcements and safety structure developed by RSR. The 5.0-litre V-8 engine boasts 550 horsepower at 7000 rpm and a maximum speed of 180mph.

The Jaguar RSR XKR GT made its racing debut during the Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, in September 2009. The car took its first green flag in the American Le Mans Series season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in October and is set for a full-season championship effort in 2010.

Mike O'Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar Cars said: "Our designers and engineers have taken the best of our standard road-going XKR and with Paul Gentilozzi's motorsport expertise created a first-class competition car. Paul and his RSR team are confident that they can compete against some serious competition in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

Speed shot of the new Jaguar RSR XKR GT getting ready for the 2010 ALMS racing season. Image Credit: Scott Coursey/RallyBuzz

RSR principle partner Paul Gentilozzi will be in attendance at Autosport International. Gentilozzi said of his attendance: "Jaguar is so intertwined with British motoring history making this a fantastic opportunity to debut the Jaguar RSR XKR GT racecar internationally. Having our new GT racecar and the Bonneville prototype XFR on display at the biggest motorsport exhibition in Europe with the production cars that made these possible is such a great way to showcase our dedication to the Jaguar brand and to motorsports.”

After taking centre stage at the car show, the Jaguar RSR XKR GT will visit “home” by making stops at Jaguar headquarter sites in Whitley and Castle Bromwich in the UK. “It will be incredibly exciting to take the Jaguar RSR XKR GT back to the team at Jaguar who worked so hard to make this dream a reality,” added Gentilozzi. “A picture may be worth a thousand words, but seeing this car in person is priceless.”

Aside from his role as team owner, Paul is one of the drivers for the #33 JaguarRSR XKR. Next up? The ALMS Winter Test February 22 – 23 at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida and Season Opener – the 12 Hours of Sebring, March 20.

... notes from The EDJE


(ht: Jaguar GT racing car makes European debut - WheelsUnplugged Automobile Industry News)

Meet “sQuba” - The World's First Bi-Athlete Electric Car

“Dive it again, James!” If the situation gets too hot for the secret agent he’ll go underground - or under water. So demonstrated impressively by Roger Moore in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me” in 1977 when he dove below the waves in a sleek vehicle that moments before seemed to be an ordinary car. Image Credit: Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Meet “sQuba” - The World's First Bi-Athlete Electric Car

An electric powered car … that swims!

Three electric motors are located in the rear compartment of the Rinspeed “sQuba”. One provides propulsion on land, the other two drive the screws for underwater motoring. Image Credit: Rinspeed

That’s right, a “green” car that can go into and tool around in the blue!

The “sQuba” by Rinspeed, is to be introduced to the world at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show (March 6th - 16th, 2008) in Geneva, Switzerland. With this introduction comes the first, ever, car that can actually fly under water.

You drive the car into the water and the car floats. That is, until you crack the door to let the water in. Immediately the “sQuba” starts on his way to the underwater world. The occupants’ breathing air comes from an integrated tank of compressed air that divers know from scuba diving. Image Credit: Rinspeed

Growing up, we all remember going to the movies to watch James Bond take off from a pier, into the water in order to investigate the hijacking of submarines carrying nuclear warheads, in “The Spy Who Loved Me.” Problem was is that this concept car in the 1977 film never existed … movie tricks!

With the introduction of the Rinspeed “sQuba,” the world’s first real submersible car, the movie fakery now becomes reality.

This excerpted from the Rinspeed website -

Thirty years after the movie thriller ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ hit the silver screen “sQuba” is the first car that can actually ‘fly’ under water.

“Dive it again, James!” If the situation gets too hot for the secret agent he’ll go underground - or under water. So demonstrated impressively by Roger Moore in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me” in 1977 when he dove below the waves in a sleek vehicle that moments before seemed to be an ordinary car.
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The scene never really took place; it was an animation.
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Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht (52) is known for his extraordinary automotive creations. The acknowledged James Bond enthusiast and Swiss automobile visionary kept revisiting this scene in his mind over and over: “For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water. Now we have made this dream come true.”

Levers help to steer the "sQuba" when it is underway, underwater. Image Credit: Rinspeed

And it is this submerged stabile flight at a depth of 10 meters that sets the “sQuba” apart from military vehicles. While the latter can go under water, they are limited to driving slowly over the submerged ground. Rinderknecht: “It is undoubtedly not an easy task to make a car watertight and pressure resistant enough to be maneuverable under water. The real challenge however was to create a submersible car that moves like a fish in water.”

It also had to be a sports car that was converted into a diving dream in the facilities of Swiss engineering specialist Esoro.

In a first step the combustion engine was removed and replaced by several electric motors. Three motors are located in the rear. One provides propulsion on land, the other two drive the screws for underwater motoring. They are supported by two powerful Seabob jet drives in the front, which ‘breathe’ through special rotating louvers from HS Genion (for opening and closing the water intake). The rotating outlet jets were designed to be extremely light yet twist resistant by using high-tech nano materials, so-called Carbon Nano Tubes.
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You drive the car into the water and the car floats. That is, until you crack the door to let the water in. Immediately the “sQuba” starts on his way to the underwater world. The occupants’ breathing air comes from an integrated tank of compressed air that divers know from scuba diving.
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It is even capable of autonomous driving on land thanks to a sophisticated laser sensor system from the Hamburg company Ibeo - without any help from the driver or passenger.

Power is supplied by rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries. Rinderknecht: “The ‘sQuba’ is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions.
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For shore leave the “sQuba” relies on a stainless coil-over suspension from KW automotive and large Pirelli tires mounted on custom-made forged light-weight wheels from AEZ with 17- and 18-inch diameters.
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Frank M. Rinderknecht and his partners - amongst them also the fleet specialist LeasePlan - have created a truly unusual vehicle and in the process have thought of everything. Even the Motorex lubricants used in the ‘sQuba” are biodegradable. For the Rinspeed boss that is a meticulousness stemming from conviction: “The ‘sQuba’ lets me be one with the elements and lets me immerse myself in a new and fascinating world - with Q factor. It is our duty to protect this world in which we are guests to the best of our ability.” Isn’t it, Miss Moneypenny? - James couldn’t have said it better himself glancing at the sporty Swiss precision chronograph from C.F. Bucherer. Eau la la - shaken, not stirred.
Reference Here>>

With the intorduction of the Rinspeed "sQuba" ... anyone can become 007! Image Credit: Rinspeed

… notes from The EDJE