Jaguar F-Type to be a ‘gamechanger’

The F-Type is ‘the most anticipated Jaguar ever’ and is set to be a ‘gamechanger’ for the brand, says UK Jaguar Land Rover MD Jeremy Hicks.

PARIS MOTOR SHOW 2012

New Jaguar F-Type

Speaking to MSN Cars at the Paris Motor Show, Hicks said that the F-Type can do for Jaguar what the Evoque has done for Land Rover.

“The Evoque has done wonders for Land Rover’s confidence. It has contemporarised the brand, given it new ideas – and it has also brought many new customers to it: Evoque buyers are mainly coming from other brands.”

New Range Rover Evoque

The F-Type can be Jaguar’s Evoque, he said.

“It is the most anticipated car in our history, without doubt. It has the potential to be phenomenal for the business: it will youthen Jaguar, create a buzz, again contemporaries it – but all done in a very British way.”

10,000 EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Even though Paris marked the official launch of the F-Type – no prices, technical details or even images had been made available before the show – Hicks still reports that he has more than 1,000 letters of intent from buyers keen to be the first in the queue.

“I also have 10,000 people who’ve asked to be kept informed on the F-Type, and this number is growing all the time.” The interest in the F-Type is not just fulsome admiration – people are queuing up to put their money down and buy one.

To help satisfy British buyers keen to see the F-Type in the metal, Hicks confirmed the red car on the Paris Motor Show stand will begin a tour of UK dealerships once the show is over.

This is to help reinforce the “strength of anticipation” that has been building since the C-X16 concept was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year.

And it’s not just people waiting to put down a deposit that Hicks is keen to engage with. “In the olden days, schoolchildren used to have posters of supercars on their bedroom walls.

“This is the modern world though: I’d instead like to see them have F-Type screensavers on their smartphones…”

PARIS MOTOR SHOW 2012