All language subtitles for Supercar.Superbuild.S02E04.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-RAWR_track4_[eng]

(car swooshing)

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] It's the most famous cat

in the automotive world.

Equal parts style, speed,
and sophistication.

- It was always a sporty brand.

It is the essence of the brand.

(tires screeching)

- [Narrator] Forged from
the ashes of World War II,

this British icon once built the fastest

and most lust worthy machine of its day.

(breathtaking music)

- The E-Type was the most
beautiful car of all time,

and that's why we all
associate gorgeous with Jaguar.

- [Narrator] When the
era of the E-Type fades,

so does the fame.

(car engine revving)

- More times than not,

they were closer to going away

than they were to staying with us.

- [Narrator] Now, the company
is back with their first

two-seat sports car in nearly 50 years.

(upbeat music)

(car engine revving)

- We're very proud of our heritage,

and we're very proud of how
we've developed as a company.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] To best an icon,

they need to go even further.

- You take the core car,

and you say, "What if?"

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] The answer lies at just

over 320 kilometers an hour,

and it's called the F-Type SVR.

(theatrical music)

(car engine revving)

(theatrical music)

(suspenseful music)

It charges off the line from zero

to a hundred kilometers an hour

in just 3.7 seconds.

(car engine revving)

- It's gonna be the fast
production car for F-Type.

- [Narrator] It's supercharged
V8 cranks out 575 horsepower.

(car engine revving)

- It's like a train that's just keeps

going on and on and on.

- [Narrator] And it rages to a top speed

of 322 kilometers per hour.

- This is a supercar.

It can compete with the best in the world.

(R&B upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The F-Type SVR,

a machine that can trace its lineage

to one of the most iconic
sports cars ever made.

And a supercar that owes its existence

to a tightly bonded family

that's gone through hell and back.

- The SVR is Jag's way of
saying that performance is back.

(R&B upbeat music)

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] This is Castle
Bromwich final assembly,

where an F-Type rolls off
the line every 12 minutes.

- Currently on this time
we've produced the F-Type.

We have two variants, coupe and converters

with a five liter engine
and a three liter engine

in each of those.

(indistinct chatter)

- [Narrator] The machines
are ultra modern,

but the building is not.

In 1938, the British Air Ministry

builds the complex to
prepare Britain for war.

- This factory, it's got a lot of history

in terms of the war.

Spitfire was produced here, the Lancaster.

They used to fly them to protect Britain.

(action music)

- [Narrator] V-Day provides safety,

but not everlasting financial security.

- We've been on three days a week.

We've been on full time.

At the first two or three years,
never did 12 months solid.

It was always layoffs or
strikes or things like that.

- [Narrator] Through the years,

the British automotive industry

goes through massive upheavals,

yet the bonds only get stronger.

(light upbeat music)

- As a youngster, you're just freeing.

But then when you get a mortgage,

you get married, you get two kids,

and then that ties you down.

Then you realize that you're
committed to the company.

- [Narrator] No matter how
challenging the circumstances,

this is a workforce

that has always bled British racing green.

(uplifting music)

- It's there in your heart.

It's always parts of you.

If they cut you in half they find Jaguar

imprinted inside me.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] That cat starts in 1922

when William Lyons opens
the Swallow Sidecar Company.

What starts on two wheels
eventually moves to four.

Nine years later, to
reflect the change in focus,

Lyons renames his
company, SS Cars Limited.

However, during World War II

the SS moniker takes on
a very different meaning.

After the war, Lyons re-christens
his business, Jaguar.

(light music)

- The Jaguar brand has always been

very much part of the
history of Great Britain.

(climactic music)

- [Narrator] When the war ends,

the British government
controls the steel trade,

and their first priority
is supplying businesses

that raise capital by exporting products.

Jaguar squarely fits the bill.

(light upbeat music)

- Celebrities like Steve McQueen

would be in Jaguar sports cars,

and the Jaguar sports car

was a very prevalent piece of Americana.

- [Narrator] By the '50s,
the British car industry

is the second largest auto
producer in the world.

Jaguar sales skyrocket.

Success in the showroom
begets success on the track.

- Jaguar has a very long racing history.

They won a lot of very important races.

- [Narrator] Over the
course of the decade,

the brand wins the 24 Hours
of Le Mans seven times.

Then in 1961, the company
changes the car world forever

when it introduces the E-Type.

- Look, the E-Type got the
world's attention for Jaguar.

(uplifting music)

- [Narrator] It's both a sensation

and a revelation that
transcends the car industry.

- [Jason] A lot of people
still consider the E-Type

to be one of the most
beautiful cars ever made.

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] The E-Type is so stunning

that even Enzo Ferrari calls it

the most beautiful car in the world.

The machine inspires
not only a generation,

but also future Jaguar
Director of Design, Ian Callum.

- I grew up in a period of the '60s

when Jaguars were called cars.

They were the car for people with taste.

- [Narrator] The sensuous
shape grabs people's attention,

but it's the mechanical
features that change the game.

In an era when the majority of sports cars

have drum brakes and solid rear axles,

the E-Type boasts an
independent suspension,

disc brakes, and a 241
kilometer per hour top speed.

- If you want a gentleman's
sports car from England,

your choices are the Aston Martin,

or if you can't afford that, the Jag.

(light rock music)

- [Narrator] The hot looks and high speeds

lead to an unheard of
14-year production run.

- Even in the 1970s when it
was, you know, it was old,

it was kind of past its prime,

it didn't wanna let go.

- [Narrator] However, by the early '70s,

Jaguar is running low on cash.

(light upbeat music)

- So when the Lyons decided
they had to replace the E-Type,

they also had to replace the
Sedan and Saloon cars as well.

They couldn't do it all.

They didn't have enough money.

- When it becomes the
symbol of a whole company,

that's really hard to follow up.

And that's like a band that has

their first breakthrough album,

and then they gotta do
the follow up album.

How often is the follow up album good?

(light rock music)

- [Narrator] As the machine ages,

so does the top brass.

- As Jaguar and the people
running the business

were getting a little bit older,

then the car was sitting the older person.

- Jag sort of became the
great Saloon car company.

Big, floaty executive
cars that Steve McQueen

might've gone in the backseat,

but he wasn't gonna be
in the driver's seat.

- I observed at that age
that the entity of a car

and how it works out through a business

tends to relate to the average age group

of the people running it,

running the business.

Something I'm very aware of now.

(tense music)

- [Narrator] By 1975, the brand
is no longer a powerhouse.

- Most of the British
auto industry went away.

- [Narrator] It gets so bad

that the British government
is forced to take over.

- They had their struggles,
especially in the 1970s

with the labor unrest.

And then there was a period
of malaise in the '80s

when there wasn't a lot of money

to invest in the companies.

(downhearted music)

- [Narrator] By the late '80s,
Ford purchases the brand.

- [Ian] It faced dilemma after dilemma,

and the thing that's
kept it going is passion.

- My father worked here,
my uncles worked here,

my aunts worked here.

And it's been a long family tradition,

in my own family.

(climactic music)

- [Narrator] During the darkest hours,

it's the familial connections
that keep the company going.

But by the late 2000s, the
last chapter of the Jaguar saga

appears to have already been written,

until they're thrown a lifeline

(elephant trumpets)

from over 10,000 kilometers away.

(theatrical music)

For over 70 years,

Jaguar has scratched and
clawed to stay alive.

Along the way, they've
overcome a world war,

poor sales,

and even government intervention.

- Jaguar survived against all odds.

(orchestral music)

- [Narrator] However, by the late 2000s,

the death looks to be
stacked against the brand.

During a near cataclysmic
worldwide economic collapse,

the mark is put up for sale.

- It shouldn't really be here.

It still is here,

because people love the brand.

(uplifting music)

- [Narrator] Some of that affection

comes all the way from India.

- It's been through the Jaguar days,

it's been through the Ford days,

and now we've entered the Tata days.

- You know, it was a really
big surprise for everyone

when Tata was the company
that came in to save Jag.

Tata is based in India.

They make cars for people who need

basic, reliable transportation.

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] In 2008, at the height

of a worldwide economic meltdown,

Tata Motors buys Jaguar for
just over 1 billion pounds.

(uplifting music)

- Why would this Indian producer

of low cost cars buy Jaguar?

Jaguar, I mean this was the
E-Type, this is rolling sex,

and Tata's cars were anything but.

It scared me to death.

- [Narrator] The fears
turn out to be unfounded

as Tata immediately pours
some much needed funds

into the company.

- Tata didn't come in and say,

"We're gonna tell you
how to make the cars."

They let the guys run with it.

(climactic music)

- [Narrator] It doesn't take
long before Jaguar roars back.

(car engine revving)

Just eight years after being rescued,

the brand scores its
best sales in a decade.

- If you look around the economic climates

within Britain for the last 10 years,

Jaguar has been a beacon.

(climactic music)

- [Narrator] It's an
exceptionally British beacon,

built with passion, forged
through perseverance.

Today, Jaguar Land Rover is the largest

automotive company in the UK

and employs nearly 35,000 people.

- It's a very, very special club.

It is like a large family.

All for one and one for all.

There've been some tough times for us,

but we can smile now.

(uplifting music)

- [Narrator] Smile's best seen

inside the Castle Bromwich factory,

where workers have endured the hardships

thanks to a uniquely
multi-generational connection.

- I've got both of my sons working here.

One actually works on this line

and the other son works on line two.

- I get a bit of grip off
lot the lads that work here

about my dad working here,

but it's all right.

It's not too bad.

- I've been here a fair time

and it was always the case.

It was a family-friendly
orientated kind of business.

- There are a lot of
families that do work here.

Like they have got managers that do have

either brothers or sisters or
family members that do work.

- We've got a good few people
who've got a long service in.

25, 30, 35, 40 years in.

(light action music)

- [Narrator] While the
tenure here is lengthy,

it doesn't even come close to
matching the dormant desire

to build a sports car.

- The sports car, the
two-seated sports car,

a long time in coming.

(light action music)

- [Narrator] During
the brand's resurgence,

a brush idea begins to take shape.

(light action music)

- And we just knew that
given the opportunity

we could design this classic
sports car replacement.

- Well, left tech didn't start
as you might normally think.

We had an MD at the time.

We wanted to do the ultimate
successor to the E-Type,

which had never happened.

- I'm sure there was a
lot of bottled up passion.

- You know you always
wanted it to come back,

and there were concepts here and there,

drawings and rumors.

- [Narrator] Director of Design
Ian Callum is the man asked

to create a new sports car

and to take on the E-Type's legend.

- I didn't come looking for the job.

I was asked to come and do it.

I wasn't quite sure at first.

Could I do this job?

But I took it on,

and I came in with the
notion that it had to change.

- The fun thing about Ian is that

he pretty much hates everything he does.

He's like, "Well, I don't
like how this came out."

And you're like, "Are you kidding?

You've just made the most beautiful

sports car in the world,

and you're criticizing it?"

- The engineering was fantastic,

but the bodies weren't
telling the right story.

(light theatrical music)

- [Narrator] In a world with
less than 60 global automakers,

simply being a head designer

is a very rare occupation.

Yet, Ian is part of a
far more exclusive club.

His brother Moray is
head of design at Ford.

- He is good.

He has to be good to be in charge of Ford.

I always say he's got the real job,

I've got the fun job.

- [Narrator] The odds of Ian
and Moray leading design teams

for two major automakers
are incredibly small.

- You know, we grew up
together loving cars.

We shared a bedroom together

and the walls were
covered in car brochures

from the floor to the ceiling.

Sensibility I think is
probably one of our strengths,

and it's a Scottish thing, you know?

I think the Scots are romantics.

(electronic upbeat music)

- [Narrator] While many
mainstream designers

endorse art school theory,

Ian takes a much more pragmatic approach.

- A lot of people in art
school used to say to me,

you know, "Go and look at nature.

Get inspiration from it."

And I got a bit stuck with that, you know?

I thought, "Well, I can look at leaves.

I do like them, they're beautiful,

but it doesn't tell me
how to design a car."

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The romance begins in 2011

at the Frankfurt Auto Show

when Ian and his team introduced
the C-X16 concept car.

The idea enthralls the audience,

and more importantly,
the brand's new leader.

- We showed it to Mr. Tata, and he said,

"Well, why aren't you doing it?"

I said, "Well, you tell me."

So, it just fell into place after that.

- [Narrator] With that
patriarch's blessing,

the team gets to work.

They use their existing
lightweight aluminum platform

as a base.

- Then we negotiate.

We, bit of a bantering and bartering

and everything goes on,

and we end up hopefully
with the right result.

(light music)

- [Narrator] It's a beautiful combination

of art and engineering.

- You know, the notion of
physics and engineering

and art and design coming together.

Leonardo da Vinci would
understand this stuff completely.

He might be quite impressed
with this actually.

(light music)

- [Narrator] Designers spend months

refining the machine shape

while engineers push
prototypes to the limit.

When you're building a
first serious sports car

in over half a century,

you've got to be at the top of your game.

- If you go away 200 yards from me,

you'll see this car sits with confidence.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] Drawing those lines on paper

is relatively simple.

Producing them in the real world is not.

- Aluminum doesn't stretch
the same way steel does.

It doesn't do what it's told.

If you stretch it too
far, it will rip open.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] Dr. Mark White is the person

pushing the limits of aluminum.

His journey at Jaguar starts
three decades earlier.

(upbeat rock music)

- So in 1987, Jaguar was
quite a different place

to what it is today.

(tools whirring)

- [Narrator] 30 years ago,
the majority of automakers

built cars out of steel.

When Mark is hired,
he's immediately focused

on switching to aluminum.

- We used aluminum in modern times

for exactly the same reason
that Sir William Lyons

used it in the '50s.

Lightweight means better performance.

(car swooshes)

Weight begets weight.

If you save 200 kilos on the body,

you can probably save
another a hundred kilos

in the rest of the vehicle systems.

- [Narrator] Lighter weight machines

help both fuel economy and performance.

But working with aluminum is a challenge.

- It's a tougher material to work with.

It's more difficult to weld.

(plane whirring)

- [Narrator] To make the
switch, the team looks outside

of the traditional
automotive world for help.

(helicopter blades whirring)

- And we decided we'd go look at

the technology used in aerospace,

and say, could we apply that to cars?

Now, nobody else did that at the time.

- [Narrator] Once the team
settles on using aluminum,

the next hurdle is choosing
whether to build their vehicles

with space frames or unibody construction.

- With a space frame,
you've got a structure

and then the exterior panels
effectively keep the rain out.

- [Narrator] In unibody constructions,

each exterior panel becomes
a key structural component.

- We decided to take the brave pill

and do a unibody construction.

- For a smaller company like Jaguar,

that's a big deal to
invest that kind of money

because steel is frankly
cheaper and easier to work with.

That's dedication to
that weight production.

- [Narrator] The decision
reduces vehicle weight

by over 40%,

but joining the panels is still a problem

because aluminum doesn't
like to be welded.

- You get a heat affected zone,

which is just basically a
brittle area around the weld,

and that area can be prone
to failure in durability.

(light music)

- [Narrator] Once again, the
team thinks outside the box.

(electronic upbeat music)

- Self-pierce rivets were
invented in Australia

to make ladders,

and ladders are one of
those peculiar things where,

if you MIG weld the rungs of the ladder

to the side frame of the ladder,

it's absolutely great until the weld fails

and then you fall off.

So we thought, "Well, hang on a minute.

If these guys are
riveting ladders together,

why couldn't we look at
riveting panels together?"

(electronic upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The idea helps
Jaguar become a pioneer

in all aluminum unibody construction.

- Getting this really nice sharp radius.

This, believe it or not, took

nearly three months of work

just 'cause Design wanted it

literally sharp as sharp can be.

- When you're creating
car out of aluminum,

you have to be very aware
of what you can draw.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] To create the sharp creases

the team uses what's called
a double draw process.

- We pioneered the double
draw technique for aluminum.

We'll do a draw, and then a second draw

to get the tight radius that we want.

(light upbeat music)

(machinery whirring)

- [Narrator] Jaguar's 20 year history

with the double draw technique

is the key to realizing Ian
Callum's vision for the F-Type.

- The only concern in
introducing the F-Type was,

would it be good enough?

Would it stand up to expectations

considering F comes after E.

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] Finally, it's
time to take on an icon.

At the Paris Auto Show in 2012,

the brand unveils its
long awaited sports car.

- Today is a momentous
day in Jaguar's history.

I'm proud to be able to present

a breakthrough product from Jaguar,

and with it, after 50 years,

the return to the sports car segment.

(light upbeat music)

- I mean, a lot of people
still consider the E-Type

to be the most beautiful car ever made.

So following that up, I mean,

that's not an easy thing to follow,

and they didn't even try.

Maybe they didn't think they could.

Doing F-Type, it was a vote of confidence.

There was also a bit of a gamble.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] After years spent teetering,

the introduction of the F-Type
is the clearest sign yet

that the cat

(car engine revving)

is roaring back.

A growl best heard from inside
the Castle Bromwich factory.

(light theatrical music)

Jaguar has just introduced the F-Type.

A purpose-built high performance machine

that caps a remarkable revival.

(car engine revving)

- So the F-Type is the
spiritual successor of E-Type

as much as it is its literal successor.

(theatrical music)

- [Narrator] To build the machine,

the company relies on the
Castle Bromwich final assembly

in the West Midlands of England.

Jaguar has been producing
cars here since 1966.

Over the years, it's changed quite a bit.

(theatrical music)

- Oh, the factory was knee deep in mud.

There used to be power
tools all line on the floor.

There was airlines everywhere.

It was a nightmare.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Today, it's a
state-of-the-art facility

where over 3,700 workers produce

four different Jaguar models.

- Castle Bromwich Factory is fascinating

because they're all aluminum cars.

It's a clean factory.

There's no sparks flying.

It's not dirty.

- [Narrator] The process
starts inside the body shop,

which is also the final assembly hall.

- It's a compact assembly hall.

As you can see, we've got body on right

and trim side by side.

- [Narrator] The chassis
structure begins life

just meters away from
where the final machines

roll off the line.

(light theatrical music)

- This is a unique body shop.

It's a robot facility.

We've got approximately
40 robots within the area.

It's a facility which is
part manual, part automated.

- [Narrator] 118 people
work alongside the robots,

and every 12 minutes a new
machine rolls off the line.

- This is the beginning of the car.

It's the foundation of
the rear end of the car.

The rear end is then formed

and it's riveted together
and adhesive is applied

to form structural
integrity of the product

that we're producing.

- [Narrator] It takes nearly three

and a half thousand rivets
to secure a single body,

and over 90 meters of
adhesive to glue it together.

That's nearly the length
of a football pitch.

- This is a validation body.

At the moment what they're
doing is looking at

all the actual rivets
on the body to make sure

that they're all in the correct place.

- [Narrator] Once the
vehicle passes inspection,

it's time to put the body sides on.

- It's now just heading into Framer Two.

The guys there are putting
body sides onto the vehicle.

The body sides then are put into place.

- [Narrator] On the closure line,

artisan metal workers
add the doors and bonnet.

- So this is where the
guys hang the doors.

(hammer pounds)

They measure the doors in position,

and they also measure
the bonnet in position.

The guys who work on
this area are craftsmen.

They're known as what they call
door hangers or body makers.

These guys will take four
or five years to be trained

to make sure that all
the gaps and profiles

are all lined up correctly.

- [Narrator] Then, each body
enters a special light tunnel

where an inspector looks over every angle

to ensure it's perfect.

- The guys then highlight
the surface with a material,

which when you look down
the side of the vehicle

you can see any imperfections
in the aluminum.

(orchestral music)

- [Narrator] One booth
later, metal workers smooth

the imperfections out.

The old school methods
underscore the team's pride

in being perfect.

- It's a British made car,

and we're proud of that.

It's got a lot of heritage.

We have a lot of soul in
the area, in the factory.

All the people who work
within the factory,

they wanna be the best.

(upbeat orchestral music)

- [Narrator] When the
machines are flawless,

they head next door to the Paint Shop,

a facility that is three quarters the size

of Buckingham Palace.

Bodies begin their 7.5 kilometer journey

with a quick chemical
bath to prevent rust.

- We've now put our colored primer on,

which is like when you paint
your house a normal primer.

So these cars now are
now being prepped ready

for your final spraying activity.

So whether the car meets
our quality requirements

is a 100% down to these guys.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Painting the
machines is a combination

of manual labor and robotic perfection.

- So all the exteriors are done by robot.

The interiors are still
currently done by hand.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] In a given year,

the Paint Shop uses roughly
the same amount of energy

as 5,003 bedroom homes.

(R&B music)

- The clear coat's on it now,

so you can see what the car
is finally gonna look like.

Body is done,

so all we're gonna do now is
we send the car downstairs.

We will remove the sleds,

and send it onto trim for final.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Painted bodies enter

the Castle Bromwich final assembly hall.

- Currently, we're in
the start of the trip

to final assembly build.

Just behind me, you'll
see shortly a car drop in

as it's traveled across
from the Paint Shop.

So it'll come on the overhead conveyor,

which is just above,

drop down on the lift.

- [Narrator] It doesn't take
long for the bare bodies

to become full-blown sports cars.

- As you add parts to the car,

it then takes shape as the
car as everyone knows it,

and it comes out as a nice, shiny F-Type.

- [Narrator] When a bare
body enters the line,

workers immediately scope out

each machine's unique build sheets.

- This is, you wouldn't
be able to see the detail,

but this specifies what
extras are on the vehicle.

And then this goes with there

and a different kind of logic,

which actually helps the
guys build the vehicle.

- [Narrator] The larger
build sheet allows workers

to take a quick glance and know exactly

which parts they need to install.

It's a critical technique
when you're manufacturing

a machine that comes
in 14 different colors,

offers two types of engine platforms,

and has over 90 optional features.

(light music)

- We take the door up,
basically unhinged them,

and put 'em on the same skillet.

And from there as we
progress down the line,

there is parts of that material.

- [Narrator] Unlike other car factories

with dedicated sub-assembly lines,

at Castle Bromwich, the doors
travel in front of the body

and are built up along the way.

It's like having two
assembly lines in one.

- It's quite unique.

It's again, as I say,
it goes with the car.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] A couple of
stations into the build,

they installed the wiring harness

- So it goes from the front
of the car to the rear,

you know, connects to the IP,

travels so all the way to
the rear of the vehicle

into the boot compartment.

- [Narrator] To help the crafts people,

they preheat the harness.

- As you can imagine, there's
a lot of cave in there,

and it's very, very rigid.

So we preheat the harnesses
before it's into the car.

That's why it's a warm air.

Probably nice at this time of year.

- [Narrator] Next, they stamp

the vehicle identification number.

Then, install the tailgate
using a weight assisted lift.

- So, it's just dropped
into place the tailgates.

Now it's being set.

You'll see it being set by the
associate and tightened up.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] At the end
of the first trim line,

they bolt in the air conditioning system

and use another semi-automated hoist

to move the dashboard into place.

Partially built machines
are fitted with headlights

and suspension components.

- The car's taking more shape.

We had the windscreen later on.

That's hand fitted,

but there's sealers automatically applied.

- [Narrator] After the
windscreen is fitted,

it's time for the vehicle's
front and rear bumpers.

They add the headliner.

And at Station 29, the iconic front badge.

Across the factory, workers
use DC powered tools

to ensure that each and every
bolt is torqued correctly.

- So if you miss a fixing

and you haven't tighten it up,

the track will wait for that,

for the box to say, "Yes, it's done,"

and allow the track to continue.

- [Narrator] It's a far
cry from how it used to be

back in the day.

- You'd have heard a
lot of air flowing out

and air guns, a lot of whining.

This is a lot more controllable,

can be measured, and
can be recorded as well.

- [Narrator] Constantly
measuring the tools

keeps the quality up.

But inside the factory, it
can be hard for the workers

to measure their own impact.

- You can't really appreciate it in here,

you know, producing it,

but when you see it out on the
road as a finished product,

it really is, really is a nice car.

(light rock music)

- [Narrator] A kick on the
street is nothing compared

to a kick at the track,

where the F-Type echoes
Jaguar's illustrious past

while perhaps offering
a key to its future.

(car engine revving)

When the E-Type is introduced in 1961,

it immediately captivates the world.

A decade later, it's a different story.

Facing slumping sales,
Jaguar founder William Lyons

asks his engineering team

to shoehorn a brand new V-12
engine into his aging chassis.

Four years later, E-Type's
epic run comes to an end.

- We've had some shortfalls,

some high times and low times,

and it's getting over
those and continuing.

And then coming outta that,

making great looking vehicles

and still with the Jaguar name

in the essence that
William Lyons started up.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] William Lyons
doesn't just start Jaguar,

he also continues to influence it today.

In 2014, the sporting
passion he helps create

reaches it zenith,

when the brand decides
to start their very first

in-house high performance division.

- Special operations,

the clue is in the word.

We do special stuff.

We push the boundaries.

We produce special products.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Former Land
Rover director John Edwards

is tapped to run Special
Vehicle Operations.

- I joined this business 25 years ago.

It's an amazing business
actually, the automobile business,

because it gets under your
skin without you realizing it.

(light music)

- [Narrator] SVO starts
as a skunkworks project,

but the team quickly outgrows
their humble beginnings.

- It's for that customer
who wants a Jaguar,

but wants to personalize,

or they want something special

that not everyone else can just go buy.

- [Commentator] That man
has ever traveled on left.

- [Narrator] Building
machines engineered to order

is not a completely new idea.

Jaguar has been crafting unique vehicles,

mostly for Royal bloodlines,

British or otherwise, for decades.

What is new, however, is the size

and scope of SVO's ambitions.

- When you get behind the
wheel of a Jaguar SVR model,

it is very well sorted out.

The same way a Mercedes-AMG
model or BMW M is.

- [Narrator] Unlike other automakers

whose high performance derivatives

simply super up regular cars,

Jaguar's hot rod shop is
challenged with building

several different genres
all at the same time.

- I've got an office at
headquarters in a line of sight

with the CEO and said,
"I've got this idea.

I want you to start a
business within a business."

(light music)

- [Narrator] The
multi-faceted mandate results

in a unique automotive environment

that doesn't just prize high speed,

but also diversity.

SVO builds everything
from one-off machines

to limited production models,

and even low batch heritage machines.

- When we first built this facility,

one of the terms we
used was Dream Factory.

That's what we do.

We build cars that people dream about.

(light upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Dreams that come to life

thanks to thinking outside the box.

- You know, the guys who work for me,

they're just a little bit crazier.

I think all the engineers are
creative and problem solvers.

It's just we're giving ours permission

to push the boundaries.

(car swooshing)

- [Narrator] Pushing the
conventional boundaries results

in an off the wall idea.

- We've got this crazy
idea of producing an F-Type

that will go 200 miles an hour.

The laws of physics say it
can't go 200 miles an hour.

Engineers get the whiteboard out

and they scribble on what happens if,

why don't we do this, or
why don't we target that?

Would it be possible to do this?

And then you just leave and go do it.

(car engine revving)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] The F-Type
predates the SVO department,

so engineers can't be sure

that they can achieve the target speed.

- When F-Type first started,

there was no Special
Vehicle Operations division.

We didn't have the
foresight back then to say,

we're gonna do an SVR version of this car.

- You know, early on in this project

we weren't sure we were
gonna hit the targets

that we set ourselves.

Once that wouldn't have
been the end of the world,

it would've felt like
the end of the world.

(light music)

- [Narrator] Just like
William Lyons in '71,

the first problem is that the
team needs to find more power.

- As you go faster, the drag force,

trying to stop the car going faster,

gets higher and higher and higher.

So you need kind of much more power

to squeeze that extra 14
mile an hour at the top end.

(whimsical music)

- [Narrator] The hunt
for horsepower begins

inside Jaguar's Whitley
research and development center.

Here, engineers run hundreds
of test bench simulations

to find 25 more horsepower.

When you're trying to crack

the 321 kilometers an hour barrier,

it's the little things that matter.

(engine whirring)

- The devil's in the detail, really,

and it's making sure that
that detail comes out.

The only way to actually
achieve 200 miles an hour

and that extra 14 miles an hour

is through aerodynamics in reducing drag.

(light music)

- [Narrator] To reduce the drag

or the amount of air resistance

that the vehicle faces at speed,

the team goes back to Ian
Callum's drawing board.

- I didn't want to dissolve
the original design

into something that was unrecognizable.

I knew we had to have appendages.

We had to have wings,
we had to have vents.

The physics matters,

I understand that but we want to do it

the most tasteful way possible.

Of course, that's part of the challenge.

(R&B music)

- [Narrator] Months of testing show

that adding a full-time rear wing

isn't an option, but a necessity.

- The biggest challenge
is the rear end of the car

getting enough down force
in the back of the car

with the original spoiler.

It wasn't gonna work.

And so we conceded we have
to put a wing in the car

to be stable at 200 miles an hour.

(R&B music)

- [Narrator] One of those
talented engineers is David Pook,

Jaguar's Chief Vehicle
Dynamics Specialist.

- So I get involved in
vehicle dynamics development

from very beginning of the
project all the way through.

- [Narrator] David's office
is a 620-acre facility

known as the Gaydon Proving Grounds.

The site starts life in
1942 as an RAF airfield.

In the mid '70s, it passes
into civilian hands,

and for over a decade has been
Jaguar's primary test site.

- So we're at Gaydon Proving Ground,

which is at the back of
our engineering center.

So behind us we have the brake straights

and the emission circuit.

(car engine revving)

As you can see, there's one doing

a standing start right now.

It's a halo product.

It means, a lot business,

but also the people that work on it.

It's a kind of an
ultimate performance car.

(R&B music)

- [Narrator] Pushing high
performance even higher

requires riding right up to the limit.

(car engine revving)

- The original E-Type made headlines

because it was one of the first cars

to cross the 150 mile an hour mark.

This is now at 200.

(car swooshes)

As you ramp up speed,
everything is exponential.

The forces involved are exponential.

(car engine revving)

The risk is exponential.

- [Narrator] It takes months of trials

before David Pook and his team

finally hit the magic number.

- It felt pretty exciting.

It feels like you've taken the 186 mile

that you kind of get used to,

and it's like a step on from that.

- Breaking 200 miles an
hour is still a big deal.

There's not very many cars in
the world that can do that.

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] One step forward
for David and his team

is a giant leap for Jaguar.

When the F-Type SVR hits
the 200 mile an hour mark,

it becomes the fastest production car

the company has ever made.

- You drive an F-Type R,

the last thing you will ever think is,

"Wow, it really should
be faster because," no.

But SVO has made the F-Type SVR,

and this is the first
car they've ever made

to top 200 miles an hour.

- [Narrator] Like all F-Types,

the SVR is built at the
Castle Bromwich factory.

- This is one of our newest vehicles,

made by our Special Vehicle
Operations division,

although we're gonna
produce it in-house here.

It's called the SVR.

(upbeat rock music)

- [Narrator] The 575 horsepower engine

is prepped right alongside
the other V-6 and V-8 motors

in the powertrain sub-assembly area.

- The area you see just over my shoulder

is the marriage station or
the stopper is recorded.

Here, you'll see the main drive train

being lifted up into the car
and bolted into position.

- [Narrator] After marriage,
they bolt in the seats

and re-install the doors.

- How we saw the doors being
taken off, being kitted out,

and we've put on a conveyor
and shipped over to line four.

So they're on line four now.

So just behind me, or to
my right, the conveyor.

We've made connections,
electrical connections.

We've added all different modules

and we just wanna know
that the main components

are speaking to each other.

So all your controls are correct.

- [Narrator] The team runs a
series of electrical checks.

- You can probably hear the
radio playing in the background.

That's part of the test.

So does the radio work?

Is it going through its stations?

Is the module kicking into it?

- [Narrator] Once the testing is complete,

a new F-Type is just meters
away from driving off the line.

- All the parts has been
added, has been tested,

starts up, and off it goes,

ready to go on through to the customer.

- [Narrator] When the new machines leave

the final assembly line,

they head to the off tracks area.

Here, they go through
another round of evaluations

before taking a quick
shower in the water booth.

A new F-Type is now complete.

But for the SVR, there's one more stop

inside the Special
Vehicles Operations garage.

- We fit the blingy parts.

The parts that we fit in this department

are unique to the car,

and they take a lot longer to fit

than the tracks are allowed to take.

We have more time to fit
to make a good job of them.

The big spoil is that you
see on the back of the car,

the carbon fiber parts on the bonnets,

on the mirror gaps, on the side vents.

- [Narrator] Keith Houlston is
one of a handful of craftsmen

who literally bridged the gap

between the E and F-Type machines.

- I started with the company in '72.

So that some 44 years ago, is it?

If my math is right.

- [Narrator] When Keith joins the company,

the E-Type is nearing the end.

But the machine helps
plant a deep seeded desire

to not only build Jags,

but eventually to own one as well.

- It was a thirst for 40 years.

I'll have one on my 40th birthday.

I'll have one on my 50th,

and never got round out.

But when we turned 60,

so we decided my wife and I
to go out and buy ourselves

a Jaguar that we'd always wanted.

(upbeat R&B music)

- [Narrator] Today, Keith
is one of a team of people

bringing their biggest, baddest,

and most powerful F-Type to life.

- When you first look at the E-Type

and the iconic car it became,

and you look at the SVR that we do now,

it just needs to be there.

It's just a great car.

- We're very, very proud of Jaguar cars.

We feel that we're the best in the world.

- You can't really persuade
someone to like something

which they don't like.

I think it's by working here,

they gain that passion and
they'll love the Jaguar.

(car swooshes)

- [Narrator] The affection
for the F-Type isn't just felt

inside the factory,

but in over 170 markets around the globe.

- It had its follies, it
had its dips and valleys.

But you look at the brand today,

and they have a really
good lineup of cars.

- [Narrator] The ultimate
sign of Jaguar's renaissance

is the F-Type,

a halo car that hearkens back

to perhaps the most beautiful
sports car ever made.

- We haven't seen another
sports car from Jaguar,

until the F-Type.

You just look and think,

how is this design so different

in a world where all cars look the same?

It's classical, and yet
different at the same time.

Stunning.

(breathtaking music)

- [Narrator] Dynamic look on the outside

is mirrored on the inside.

(breathtaking music)

- This Jaguar's got stylized dashboard.

It doesn't look like any
other company out there,

and they've got their little party trick

with the air conditioning
vent that rise up

out of the top of the dash.

It's all about the wow factor.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Many fans are awed,

but it's how the machine performs
on the track that matters.

(car revving)

- You have any preconceived
notions of a Jaguar

being soft or pudgy,

or sort of humdrum to drive.

You can throw those all out the window

when it comes to the F-Type.

When you get it out onto a race track,

it is absolutely engaging.

- It's certainly gonna
deafen anybody you drive by

with that loud exhaust.

It's a little unhinged in
the handling department,

and I think Jaguar did that on purpose.

They want it to be sideways.

They want it to be fun,

and that gives the car
a lot of personality.

(car revving)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Part of
the character comes from

the machine's brutal tone.

- The sounds that it
makes are unbelievable.

It has this sport exhaust
that just coughs fur balls

and just backfires every time
you lift off the accelerator.

- [Narrator] Lifting
off the throttle creates

an acoustic performance.

But putting your foot down
offers an even better sensation.

- When you get on the gas,

the F-Type loves to spin its rear wheels,

get itself sideways,

then send power to the front
and pull itself straight.

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] The F-Type
R goes zero to a hundred

in four seconds

and has a top speed of
299 kilometers per hour.

But if you're lucky enough
to slide behind the wheel

of the F-Type SVR,

you'll hit the zero to a
hundred mark in 3.7 seconds

and run all the way up to
322 kilometers per hour.

(car swooshes)

- In a world of turbocharged engines,

what gets me going is the
supercharged V-8 in that car.

There's no waiting,

there's just instant anger
the second you're on the gas.

That's a novelty that'll probably go away.

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] For years, Jaguar itself

seemed destined to go away.

While the F-Type alone
didn't bring the brand back,

it does put the world on notice

that in the future, the
mark means business.

- I think what's so
surprising about the F-Type

is how brash it is.

(car engine revving)

- My family has worked here a long time

and long may continue,

because it feeds the local
area in terms of jobs.

It's a British icon,

which is heralded all
the way around the world.

- See, I feel hugely privileged
to have been involved

in successor to the E-Type.

My goodness, I would never have dreamt

that would ever happen.

(car engine revving)

I'm very fortunate.

(light theatrical music)