Discover a different side to Eva Green
| Will your next taxi be a self-driven Jaguar I-PACE?
| What it takes to break a lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife
| The petrolheads racing in Jaguar’s new all-electric race series
| Up close with the latest special edition of the XE and XF: the 300 SPORT
INNOVATION BRENDAN
INNOVATION BRENDAN WALKER ROLLERCOASTER DESIGNER Did you know there’s a thrillseeking gene?” asks Brendan Walker. People with a certain dopamine receptor are more likely to be thrill-seekers, he explains. “I had my DNA tested a while ago and I have it. Which wasn’t very surprising.” Walker, a self-titled ‘thrill engineer,’ has helped create some of the UK’s best-known rollercoasters and theme park rides, such as Wicker Man and Thirteen at Alton Towers. His aerial design practice specializes in “tailored emotional experiences” and enables Walker to pursue his passion: exploring the phenomenon of the thrill. “It’s deeply subjective, of course, but a thrill combines both pleasure – associated with dopamine – and arousal – associated with adrenaline. To elicit that, you need a rapid and large increase in the two together,” Walker says. “Fear can make the journey even more dramatic.” For a rollercoaster, the emotional experience starts as soon as you know it exists – an advert on TV, perhaps. The whole journey plays a part, from buying the tickets to lining up. “The moment the harness clicks into place, when you know there’s no going back – that’s actually the biggest thrill,” says Walker. He knows this because he has monitored and analyzed the emotions and physiological changes of thousands of theme park-goers in a bid to quantify thrill. The Englishman has even refined it into his own formula, the Walker Thrill Factor. He uses this to measure and rate a thrilling experience by tracking a person’s reactions, including heart rate and facial expressions. “That’s my geeky, scientific side,” he chuckles from behind his trademark large glasses in his East London studio. Walker studied engineering and worked for several years at British Aerospace before deciding that aircraft production timelines were too long for his taste. He quit and went to art college before studying industrial design. “I really loved experimenting. I started out making mechanical sculptures in my workshop. It was fascinating to see how audiences reacted, observing their emotions. I began to explore the underlying psychology, and this eventually wound up as a series of public installations at London’s Science Museum, which gave birth to my work as a thrill engineer.” When consulting for theme parks, Walker uses his research to help ride-makers plan factors like speed, g-force and changes in acceleration or ‘jerk.’ He calculates how far a ride needs to drop vertically, in the dark, to create the sensation of thrill – 0.7 seconds, or 2.4 meters. A ride shouldn’t be one pure adrenaline rush, though, he says. “A rollercoaster is like film or music. When should you change the pace, lighten the mood? Alfred Hitchcock was a master at it: giving the viewer a short cathartic release before taking them somewhere darker.” His latest project combines virtual reality with an old-fashioned playground swing. Walker says he can make people believe they are bouncing above rooftops or undulating like a jellyfish. “I’m developing ways to harness the physical forces riders feel, by making them believe they are coming from very different places. Virtual reality is allowing me to be really innovative – and this may be the future for thrill rides beyond rollercoasters.” 60 THEJAGUAR
“ A ROLLERCOASTER IS LIKE FILM OR MUSIC – WHEN SHOULD YOU CHANGE THE PACE, LIGHTEN THE MOOD?” THEJAGUAR 61
JAGUAR MAGAZINE celebrates creativity in all its forms, with exclusive features that inspire sensory excitement, from seductive design to cutting-edge technology.
The latest issue features a range of inspiring people: from Luke Jennings, creator of Villanelle, one of the most interesting television characters in recent times, to Marcus Du Sautoy, who ponders whether artificial intelligence is on the brink of becoming creative. Out on the road, we visit the US to explore the foodie heaven of Portland in a Jaguar I-PACE, take a Jaguar XE to the south of France to get a photographer’s viewpoint of the charming town of Arles, and much more.
David Gandy and his XK120 charm London’s creative quarter
| How charity In Place Of War channels creativity in conflict zones
| Interior designer Joyce Wang shares the latest trends in luxury
| Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s most successful year in Formula E
| Meet Jaguar’s new design director Julian Thomson
Often provocative, always creative: meet graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister
| The British woodcrafters bringing a new dimension to an age-old skill
| Sample Paul Pairet’s Michelin-starred culinary delights in Shanghai
| See how Iris van Herpen is redefining fashion technology
| Time-travel to the futuristic city of Seoul
Discover a different side to Eva Green
| Will your next taxi be a self-driven Jaguar I-PACE?
| What it takes to break a lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife
| The petrolheads racing in Jaguar’s new all-electric race series
| Up close with the latest special edition of the XE and XF: the 300 SPORT
| A charged-up drive of the New All-Electric Jaguar I-PACE in Portugal’s Algarve
| The inside line on the creation of the revolutionary I-PACE
| Reinventing a classic: meet the E-type Concept Zero
| Fifty years of the iconic XJ saloon
| Exclusive interview with tennis star Johanna Konta
| Can supercomputers revolutionise art?
The latest issue of The Jaguar magazine introduces our new ‘cub’, the E-PACE compact practical sports car, which is already turning heads on the street. As we commit to electrifying every new Jaguar by 2020, we explore how pushing boundaries on the track helps develop our sports cars, from writing motorsport history at Le Mans, to taking on the Nürburgring with the extreme XE SV Project 8 and being at the very cutting edge with the FIA Formula E Championship.
In this issue, we introduce a fresh new addition to the Jaguar family with the launch of the E-PACE. F1 racer Romain Grosjean reveals his passion for Jaguar while the Panasonic Jaguar Racing Team gives an insight into their preparations. Plus, we get to grips with the fast-paced sport of drone racing and spend a unique day with the XF Sportbrake.
In this issue we return to top level motorsport but not in a conventional way, and by doing so accelerate the development of our electric powertrains. In tandem, we introduce our Jaguar I-PACE Concept vehicle - a revolutionary new model available to reserve now for delivery in 2018.