Could Williams emerge as the outsourced competition department for Jaguar? It very well might if Adam Parr has his way. The chairman of the Williams F1 team and its related subsidiaries is enthusiastic about his company’s collaboration with the British automaker, and is keen to see it move forward into new areas.
Currently, Williams is helping Jaguar develop the C-X75 concept into a roadgoing supercar. And while the micro-turbines housed in the show car’s engine bay aren’t likely to make the production cut – at least, not initially – the hybrid element of the drivetrain is. That’s where Williams comes in, supplying its expertise with the Kinetic Energy Recovery System it developed for use in F1 towards road-going application on the production C-X75.
Williams could, potentially, be called back in to service to develop hybrid systems for other Jaguar road cars if its work on the C-X75 turns out well, but Parr is also looking towards Le Mans. Jaguar has no less than seven victories at the famed endurance race to its name, including five in the 1950s and another two in 1988 and 1990, and is rumored to be working on a new LMP1 racing prototype, but whether Williams is in on the program remains to be seen.
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