JLR announces global ambitions with launch of new F-Type
JAGUAR Land Rover announced its intention to be a major player in the global automotive sector today with the unveiling of two new iconic vehicles at the Paris Motor Show – one being the public debut of the company’s much anticipated new sports car, the F-Type.
Speaking at the launch event, Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director, Jaguar, said the company as a whole was committed to the most ambitious investment strategy in its history.
The strategy is designed to transform Jaguar Land Rover from a niche manufacturer to a major global player, he said.
The new all-aluminium two-seater sports car, which is built at the firm’s Castle Bromwich factory, is the first new product to be delivered as part of that strategy, he added.
He said the new sports car, which will go on sale next spring at prices starting from £58,500, saw the company going back to its sporting heritage and followed in footsteps of previous iconic sports cars such as the E-Type and the XK120.
“Jaguar is a founder member of the sports car segment with a rich sporting bloodline stretching over 75 years, and in the F-Type we’ve reignited that flame,” he said.
“The F-Type isn’t designed to be like anyone else’s sports car. It’s a Jaguar sports car – ultra-precise, powerful, sensual and, most of all, it feels alive.”
The car is being launched as a convertible with a choice of three petrol engines: 340PS and 380PS versions of Jaguar’s all-new 3.0-litre supercharged V6 and a new derivative of its existing supercharged 5.0-litre V8.
Indian parent Tata Motors is hoping the F-Type will be the car that helps to re-establish it in a market it used to claim as its own.
The launch was accompanied by a glitzy presentation firm showing two of the cars racing one another along a twisting mountain road.
Mr Hallmark said the car had been positioned as a crossover vehicle between the traditional full-size and compact sports car markets. He said it was a full-size sports car but priced to fall between the two segments.
Sharing the stage with the F-Type was the full public debut of the new flagship Range Rover, unveiled by JLR earlier this month.
John Edwards, Global Brand Director for Land Rover, said the new all-aluminium and fuel efficient 4×4 was already proving massively popular and production was already sold out until well into next year.
He said nine out of 10 of the vehicles would be for export and revealed that a full diesel hybrid version of the 4×4 would go on sale next year.
