Jaguar Land Rover’s existing Engineered To Order division, the British automaker’s personalization department and maker of extreme models such as the 2014 XKR-S GT, is being expanded and in the process will have its name changed to Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations. As we’ve seen with most rivals in the luxury segment, demand for personalized cars has never been higher, so it makes sense for Jaguar Land Rover to also focus on meeting the increasing expectations of today’s most discerning and enthusiastic car customers.

The new unit will be led by Jaguar Land Rover exec John Edwards and be housed in a state-of-the-art technical center being created at the automaker’s main facility in West Midlands, England. In addition to working on the high-performance R-S range of vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations will also work on bespoke commissions, collector editions and branded goods.

The Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations unit will also have a new heritage vehicle workshop located at Browns Lane in Coventry, the spiritual home of Jaguar. Here, work on vehicle recreations, servicing and restorations, and the creation and provision of heritage vehicle parts will be done. You may recall that Jaguar has just embarked on its first re-creation project: six new 1963 Lightweight E-Types.

About 150 staff will make up Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations. One of them is Paul Newsome, who previously worked for an advanced engineering unit at the Williams Formula One team. Working on present and future vehicle portfolios, Newsome and the rest of the team will create halo vehicles ranging from high luxury to extreme performance. Yes, Audi quattro, BMW M and Mercedes-AMG will soon have some stiff competition from Jaguar Land Rover.

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