It can be hard to picture a car like the Jaguar F-type R coupe performing everyday duties, but we now know exactly what the ultra-hot sports car looks like toting around a couple of bicycles. That’s because Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations group has whipped up a special example for Team Sky, one of many biking teams pedaling for glory at this year’s Tour de France.
Because putting a bike rack on an F-type and calling it a day might seem a bit . . . easy, Jaguar instead altered the car’s rear end for bike-carrying duty. The rear window has been replaced with a carbon-fiber panel with four slots scattered around a centrally located, arm-type bike holder. Team Sky can load two cycles onto the rack—placing each bike’s rear wheel into one of the two outer slots—as well as a pair of spare wheels that fit in the central cutouts. It’s quite a slick solution, especially given how it keeps the bikes low and doesn’t ruin the F-type’s gorgeous lines.
The special F-type will serve as a support vehicle during Stage 20 of this year’s race, which is scheduled for Saturday, July 26. (The race is currently on a rest day between Stages 15 and 16.) The car thus is fitted with a host of communications equipment to help Team Sky coordinate its efforts, and it has a separate electrical supply in the trunk that powers “radios, amplifiers, microphones, horns, and televisions.” Finally, the F-type was topped off with a Team Sky livery and matching blue interior.
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This isn’t the first time that Jaguar and Team Sky have worked together; as one of the team’s “official suppliers,” Jag has hooked them up with several vehicles since 2010, including a fleet of XF Sportbrakes. Of the latest car, Jaguar says, “the visual impact of the F-type Coupe during Stage 20 will also of course bring added attention to Team Sky and our unique partnership.” That’s a bit obvious, we think—the team could only draw more attention if it had Gemma Atkinson following its racers wearing nothing but a Team Sky banner.
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