Lifestyle: If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, does Jaguar have the X-Factor?

USING beautiful people to sell beautiful things has been a marketing ploy since the dawn of time but when your products are as stunning as Jaguar’s new F-Type Coupé you might find yourself asking why you would ever need a celebrity endorsement in the first place.

But the truth is, it never hurts. And when you’re selling lifestyle products such as an £85,000 sports car then a connection with the exotic might be just the image that persuades you that once you’re in the driving seat you’ll be ushered into a world so cosseted that even Premier League footballers and rock stars would be green with envy.

It’s a ploy that was in evidence at the Los Angeles Motor Show, where the connection between beautiful automobiles and Tinseltown goes back almost a century.

They were all at it – the manufacturers that is. It’s an increasingly competitive world and if this tennis player or that TV reality star rocks your world then the marketing folk will spare no expense to get them to appear on your stand and pose next to your product. If you’re really in luck you might get that starlet to drape themselves over the hood (I use the American term as “bonnet” just doesn’t seem appropriate in such exalted company).

Jaguar celebrated the launch of its new coupé with a highly theatrical and dramatic reveal at Raleigh Studios in Playa Vista, California. The first glimpse the assembled media, celebrities and customers at the exclusive event saw of car was as it accelerated towards them before it passed under their grandstand at full throttle.

The ploy was similar to one used by the company earlier this year in New York when it launched the new Range Rover Sport, when an audience was similarly captivated to see the 4×4 plough through the mean streets of Manhattan only to emerge from the screen driven by none other than 007 himself, Daniel Craig.

The evening, as Jaguar eloquently described in its press release “captured the hearts of British and international fans of the brand, including Simon Cowell, Miranda Kerr, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Manganiello, Kelly Osbourne, David Gandy, Yasmin Mills, Jodie Kidd, singer-songwriter Andra Day and, host of CarCast, Adam Carolla, as they celebrated Jaguar’s heritage and the arrival of its all-new sports coupé”.

For me personally, whether Simon Cowell thinks it’s a good car is neither here nor there and it certainly wouldn’t be a deciding factor in getting me to part with my cash – would that I was ever lucky enough to be in a position to spend £85,000 on a new car, or any car for that matter. Perhaps naively, I prefer to let the car do the talking and it looks like the new coupé has plenty to say.

The convertible version has been attracting buyers around the globe since it went on sale earlier this year and that exclusive club is likely to swell next spring when the new coupé arrives in dealers.

Jaguar has revealed the prices people can expect to pay and the range starts at  £51,235 for the basic – if such a term can be applied to such a car – model, rising to £60,235 for the slightly swifter S Coupé before the range-topping 550PS R Coupé, which will set you back the aforementioned £85,000.

Not content with Jaguar grabbing all the glory, stable mate Land Rover was keen to make an impression at the LA show as well. And what an impression! The Solihull firm likes to put on a big show these days and in its long wheelbase flagship Range Rover it has the vehicle to do just that. This impressive 4×4 has presence in spades. The vehicle, more likely now to find a home with Russian oligarchs than gentlemen farmers, is stunning in every sense.

Drive one of these and passersby will give you a wide berth because you will command the road whether you’re on the wide boulevards of Beverly Hills and LA’s eight-lane freeways or the crowded streets of Chelsea and the Kings Road. Let’s be honest here, talk about its new all-aluminium architecture, lightweight construction – at least by the standards of its predecessor – and improved fuel consumption in reality count for nothing. If you can afford one of these vehicles you’re not worried about the frequency of your visits to the petrol station.

So the emphasis is on luxury. Let’s go back to those marketing men. Here’s what Land Rover said in its press release: “Land Rover showcases the ultimate in peerless luxury with the global debut of the long wheelbase Autobiography Black Range Rover. Representing the pinnacle of the Range Rover line-up, the Autobiography Black brings even higher levels of refinement to the world’s finest luxury SUV.”

For once, it’s not empty rhetoric. This vehicle can justify the hype. “This highly sophisticated vehicle showcases British design at its best,” says JLR. I agree with them – and the fact that the beautiful star of Skyfall, Berenice Marlohe, was pictured in it did not sway my decision one bit…did it?

Aston Martin – Automotive Art

WHILE we’re on the subject of all things beautiful – automotive and otherwise, Aston Martin is rounding off its centenary year celebrations with an exhibition of unique artworks created to celebrate and document its 100 years in business.

More than 150 of the sports car maker’s owners, enthusiasts and advocates joined key figures from the London art world at the brand’s unique central London showcase – W-One – for the unveiling of the paintings, which have been created by Aston Martin’s centenary artist-in-residence, James Hart Dyke.

Following his recent work for the producers of the James Bond films and his exhibition, ‘A year with MI6’, the artist was invited by Aston Martin to create the series of paintings on show in W-One that help record the centenary year.

He was given exclusive, behind-the-scenes, access throughout the year and the resulting paintings are based on visits to the state-of-the-art Aston Martin factory and global headquarters at Gaydon in Warwickshire, the Le Mans and Nürburgring 24-Hour races and many other centenary events.

The works, consisting mainly of oil on canvas, document among other things the drive of the 1959 Le Mans-winning DBR1 by racing legend Sir Stirling Moss at the year’s N24, the debut of the centenary-inspired concept car – the CC100 – and the central London celebration of 100 years of Aston Martin that saw more than £1bn-worth of rare and exotic Aston Martins displayed at Kensington Gardens in July.

Other works record the building of modern cars at the hi-tech factory at Gaydon, and sit alongside images detailing the unique craftsmanship and artisan skills on hand at Aston Martin Works, the Newport Pagnell-based historic home of Aston Martin and the brand’s global centre of excellence for heritage and restoration.

Hart Dyke said: “The priceless opportunity to get so closely involved in this, Aston Martin’s centenary year, was one that I simply could not turn down.

“I have been lucky enough to attend many of the signature events in this remarkable year and I hope the paintings deliver a real flavour of the special celebrations.”

Janette Green, global director of brand communications at Aston Martin, said: “James’s work brilliantly captures the spirit of Aston Martin’s centenary. From heritage and motorsport to cutting edge sports cars, the brand’s unique appeal is summed up in these images and we are very happy to see them displayed here in Mayfair.”

The centenary art exhibition runs at W-One on Park Lane in Central London until Friday. (November 29).