Supercat rolls out

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Nov 30, 2007

JAGUAR got a healthy dose of the XF factor with the news that the first of the firm's premium sports saloon range has just rolled off the production line at its Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, plant.

The bold new four-door Jaguar XF will eventually be exported to 66 markets worldwide, and the first British customers will get their hands on one come March.

Details of the XF were unveiled back in September, on the 85th anniversary of Jaguar Cars, which was founded by Sir William Lyons in 1922 on his 21st birthday.

Since those early beginnings, Jaguar has evolved from making motorcycle sidecars to become one of the world's most high-profile manufacturers of sports cars and sporting saloons. Not bad for William Lyons' firm, who began producing just one motorcycle sidecar a week in a tiny garage with his partner at the time, William Walmsley.

Walmsley left the company in 1934, and Jaguar went on to become a cultural icon, producing legendary cars such as the E-type of 1961, the 3.7-litre car that became an instant classic and worldwide hit.

Music celebrities mixed with royalty in the early 1960s in the queue for the E-type, which was later given more powerful engines, and which was inspired by the unforgettable Le Mans winning D-type of 1955.

The new XF, which can be ordered now, has already been hailed for its stunning new design, and has won Autocar magazine's Design of the Year award and the Interior of the Year Award from Car magazine .

First to roll off the Castle Bromwich production line was a Vapour Grey 4.2 litre SV8, which was destined for the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection to go on display alongside some of Jaguar's most prestigious and memorable vehicles.

Porsche, meanwhile, is to unveil a RS 60 Spyder version of its popular mid-engined 3.4-litre Boxster roadster echoing the 1960 the Porsche Type 718 RS 60 Spyder that won a long-distance sports car race in Florida, USA.

CAPTION(S):

COMING SOON - the Jaguar XF