Jaguar announced at the Geneva Motor Show that are working with skier Graham Bell in an ambitious bid to make him the fastest person on skis. No I'm swear I'm not making this up! This is to take place next year and the idea is simple(ish), Jaguar will use an XE to pull Bell to a speed of 100 mph and then the jetpack in Bell's suit will ignite. Bell hopes to reach speeds of 180 mph which would be enough to break the current downhill speed world record currently held by Italian skier Simone Origone. He obtained a speed of 156 mph which secured his place in the record books in 2015.
“As engineering challenges go it doesn’t get more unique than this,” said Ian Anderton, thermal and aerodynamics manager at Jaguar Land Rover, “In many ways, it’s very similar to the car design process, necessitating the perfect balance between aerodynamics, engineering and design for ultimate performance.”