Jaguar and Walkinshaw have poured cold water on rumours they’re planning to take on Ford and General Motors in the Australian Supercars Championship.
“Jaguar has no plans to enter Australian V8 Supercars,” a Jaguar spokesperson today told CarExpert, following reports the brand has a “hand shake deal” with 2021 Bathurst winners Walkinshaw Andretti United to enter the series in 2023.
“Our focus remains on our existing ABB FIA Formula E World Championship programme as part of our wider Reimagine strategy which will see Jaguar become an all-electric modern luxury brand from 2025,” the Jaguar spokesperson said.
Jaguar in Formula E 
Walkinshaw Andretti United wins Bathurst
A source within Walkinshaw today insisted the team is “absolutely not” committed to running a Jaguar in the 2023 season.
Similar rumours about a Jaguar and Walkinshaw partnership surfaced earlier in 2021, while Jaguar labelled talk of entering Supercars “insane” all the way back in 2013.
According to the latest report, the Jaguar racer would be based on the F-Type sports car. Although it’s powered by a V8, turning the seven-year-old coupe into a Supercar wouldn’t be simple.
The F-Type hasn’t been developed for racing at any point during its life, and Jaguar doesn’t have a customer racing division like Mercedes-AMG, BMW, and Audi.
It’s not clear what would power the car, given there’s no race-ready engine in the Jaguar stable. The brand could use an existing Supercars engine in an F-Type body, but that would lessen any link between the racer and road car.
Under new rules coming into force in 2023, Supercars need to have the same dimensions as their road car donors for key body components, including the doors, roof, windows and bonnet. These parts must be interchangeable with the respective road car.
Locked in for 2023 are new Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro racers. Revealed at the Bathurst 1000, the new cars will be tested throughout 2022 before their debut.
