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Jaguar F-Type Group 44 | GT4-spec
Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I don’t like green cars. At all. However, to every rule there is an exception and in my case, the exceptions are the (predominantly white) Group 44 cars with their two-tone green liveries sponsored by Quaker State.
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Jaguar XJ-S Notchback Hot Rod
Building the Hasegawa Jaguar XJ-S kit in 1:24 scale, I noticed that it is virtually impossible to lower the car properly without modifying the wheel arches. Bolt-on overfender are always an option, but it didn’t feel right with the lines of this classy coupé. Instead of cutting up the body of the plastic model, I put it back into the box and switched to Adobe Photoshop. After many failed attempts to relocate the wheel arches, I decided to hotrod the sled just for fun. This is entirely fictional for now, but could be done in reality. XJ-S prices are low and it isn’t exactly a rare car nobody dares to cut apart and weld back together in a different way.
The frame was extended to get the proportions right and to make it less butt-heavy than the stock design, I reshaped the C-pillars. Inspiration for this mod came, believe it or not, from the foxbody Mustang notchback. I think it improves the proportions of the car, but at the same time takes away one of the design quirks that make the XJ-S so unique and instantly recognizable. In order to keep with the classic hot rod theme, I didn’t use the Jaguar V12, but added four cylinders to a Ford V8 just for the heck of it. Open headers should provide an adequate soundtrack to match the visual impact.
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To be honest, the Mk2 Granada has never been one of my favorites – I’ve always preferred the Ford Granada Mk1. Yes, I do love cars with straight lines, but the Mk2 Granadas’ design is a little bit too dull. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed by altering a few pixels, hehe. The front grille is from an Escort RS2000, the bumpers are from a Jaguar XJ-S. Why did I do that? Well, quite easy to explain, actually: I had the Granada and XJ-S pictures next to each other on my desktop. By chance! Inspiration struck and a couple of minutes later the idea had been transformed into what you see here.