Jaguar Land Rover has announced the setting up of a new business division whose mission will be to focus on designing and engineering custom vehicles for what it calls “discerning and enthusiastic” car customers.

As well as bespoke commissions, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations will offer a range of products and services including the production of high performance derivatives and heritage products including vehicle recreations, servicing and restorations, and the creation and provision of heritage vehicle parts.

The specialist team of designers and engineers will be led by Paul Newsome, Director of Special Vehicle Operations, recently recruited from Williams Advanced Engineering. Working on present and future vehicle portfolios, the team will create halo vehicles ranging from high luxury to extreme performance.

To support the delivery of these products, Jaguar Land Rover will be investing in a new dedicated Technical Centre, located in the West Midlands area of the UK, close to the current headquarters.

A team of 150 Jaguar Land Rover specialists will be based at the new Technical Centre. Its facilities will feature a customer commissioning suite for bespoke services and premium vehicle personalisation, Formula 1-inspired flexible workshops and a fully automated paint facility.

In addition, a new heritage vehicle workshop will be created at Browns Lane in Coventry, the spiritual home of Jaguar. This will be the production site for the six recently announced lightweight E-Type recreations and will also allow the newly formed heritage team to expand its servicing and restoration services. The newly expanded heritage business will be open from the start of August.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

Tags: car design, classic car restoration, Jaguar Land Rover, John Edwards, luxury, Paul Newsome, Williams Advanced Engineering