Tata Wants A Sporting Jaguar Brand, with Boxster-Fighting F-type
There are more than a few long-time fans of Jaguar automobiles who have been somewhat concerned about the future of the British automaker now that control of it rests with relative upstart, Tata. Those anglophile Chicken Littles will likely be interested in a new report found in the July 30 issue of Autocar’s print magazine.
Word is that Tata sees Jag as being more of a sporting brand than a luxury one, and firmly believes that the company needs to offer a beautiful two-seater for considerably less money than the current XK. That car will be the long-awaited F-type, and Tata would like for it to be a fierce competitor for Porsche’s Boxster. Expect then that the F-type will start somewhere around $40,000 when it comes to call in less than two-years time.
+ Autocar
Comments
Anonymous
Now we're talking. I never caught the dream of an expensive Buick.
Mena
Wow! We are definitely talking now!
Russ Bellinis
I've never understood why Jaguar kept trying to compete with Aston Martin, but never looked at the $40,000 - $50,000 sports car market held by Porsche Boxter, BMW Z4, Mercedes SLK, Nissan 350z, and Corvette. Looking back into the 1950's that was Jaguar's market with the XK 120-150 and then the E-types. Throughout the life of the E-type it was priced comparably to the mid year Vettes. The brand is competitive with that market. Following the demise of the E-type, the XJS was aimed at a much higher priced market and the build quality tanked at the same time. Since then Jaguar has been stumbling around trying to discover their market niche, and they have consistently made the wrong decision in every new product line. he one question that brings to mind is are they going to bring back a real sports car with an actual stick shift, or will it be limited to a sporty car with an automatic only?
Ducati Minor
On the matter of targeting Aston, the Jag division never had a chance to. The Aston brand was Ford's premium-market GT division, whereas Jaguar served in both the sale of luxury saloons and lower-level GTs. That was one reason why Ford's PAG management did not manufacture the XKR-R, a souped-up version of Jaguar's grand tourer: it would have directly competed in performance and price with the Aston DB7 GT, the then-namesake of the upscale English marque. A bigger reason was that the time & money put into the XKR-R program would have ended up in further loss for a bleeding brand.
The F-type and the XK180 are my two favorite concepts of the 1990s. Growing up, I had a fondness for the Jaguar name. I remember expressing jealously when my neighbor's dad, a Ford employee, brought in a new XK8 cabrio for the weekend. I was defiant in explaining how "superior" the 'Vette was; but I couldn't deny the beauty and presence that XK had. What saddened me was how unwilling the Jag brass seemed to target the enthusiast, however. The XK was more of an English Mercedes SL than a Porsche-challenger. The marks Jaguar had set in its rich past with the XK120, XKSS, XKE, and XJ13 were lost by my generation.
This is one rare example where I would pray to see a motorcar come to life. There is a lot of potential...but also a lot of room to mess up. The XK began life as a lightweight concept; by the time it hit showrooms, it weighed in at 3,700 lbs. (Two tons for the cabrio.) I'm still bitter about the XF result, though the interior and the high-tech features are stunning. Even if the F-type were to come out as being a $60K low-volume roadster, I feel it'd be worth it just to see a car with a low curb weight, few luxuries, and the true place as a pure-blooded sports car. Few ideas have inspired me as this one.
If this comes to nothing, I can still lust for an imported Griffith 500 (which I was rightly corrected that it had a Rover V-8 and not a Ford one.)
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