After the success of BMW’s ‘Ring Taxi’, which let people sit in the passenger seat and get a mind-blowing experience of a real fast lap around the Nurburgring in the BMW M5, British car-brand Jaguar has just begun its own taxi service. In Jaguar’s ‘Ring Cab’ service, the car to be used will be the recently launched long wheelbase Jaguar XJ Supersport limo, complete with Speed and Sport options.
Jaguar’s engineering team has developed this special taxi service which allows Jaguar’s trained drivers to safely take passengers on some of the hottest laps.
The XJ Supersport limo will be powered by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine that gives 514PSpower and 625Nm torque. Performance is top-notch with acceleration from 0 to 100 kmph reached in 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 280 kmph. Since the electronic speed limit system has been removed, the XJ Supersport limo can easily bypass the standard 250kmph speed limit to upto 280kmph.
The exterior of the Nurburgring Taxi is finished in a non-standard matt grey paint. Also the Sport Pack features front aero splitter, gloss black front grille mesh and side power vents, 20-inch wheels, red brake callipers and a colour-matched bootlid spoiler which helps increase the downforce at high speeds.
Jaguar has also revamped the interiors of the XJ Supersport by doing away with some of the luxury features in order to provide additional safety. For example, the standard version’s leather-trimmed heated and cooled seats have been replaced with four race seats, each with a 4-point harness. Also, afull bespoke roll cage has been installed for safety purposes.
According to Frank Klaas, global head of communications for Jaguar Land Rover, the Tata-owned car maker has been successfully conducting a Nürburgring driving programme from itsNordschleife engineering test centre for a while since it’s the most appropriate place to demo the dynamic capabilities of the current Jaguar XJ, XK AND XF models. He also added that the XJ Supersport had been selected for the programme since it never fails to surprise journalists who make the incorrect assumption that since it is a large luxury car, it falls short on speed.
Jaguar has not yet revealed any Nurburgring lap times for the ‘Ring Cab’ service.