Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has officially opened its new Technical Centre in the heart of the British Midlands.

The innovative, new $26 million facility will be the headquarters of SVO, housing manufacturing, paint, technical and customer commissioning and presentation zones inside the 20,000-sq-metre facility.

The new centre is a significant representation of the growth of the Special Operations, the specialist division of JLR created in June 2014 to build a business responsible for halo car products, vehicle personalisation, classic car programmes by JLR Classic and a range of branded goods.  

In the future, customers will be able to visit the Technical Centre’s commissioning suite by invitation, where they will explore the infinite range of possibilities for creating and customising their own Jaguar or Land Rover vehicle.

The SVO story will continue in the Technical Centre once the customer has left, as their car is built, painted and hand-finished in the other three areas of the building. The workshop features a series of highly advanced workstations and has been created to enable the building of SVO vehicles, by hand, to the highest possible quality.

The largest zone in the centre is an innovative, 12,000-sq-metre paint facility, which is one of the most environmentally friendly paint facilities in the world. All paint finishes are treated to a double clearcoat that provides extra protection and an impeccable world-class finish. The final stage to the process is the manufacturing facility, which is home to some of the most extreme quality control procedures in the world.

“The new Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre is a major step forward in meeting the desires of our most discerning customers. There are more than 200 skilled employees here that are committed to outstanding quality and craftsmanship in everything they do,” said John Edwards, managing director of JLR Special Operations.

“The SVO Technical Centre is a very modern facility, inspired by a Formula 1 engineering centre. It enables us to build on the successful launches of the Range Rover Sport SVR, Range Rover SVAutobiography and Jaguar F-Type SVR, and provides us with an excellent foundation for the growth of the SVO business with the introduction of exciting new vehicle personalisation programmes.” - TradeArabia News Service