LOS ANGELES: When the Jaguar F-Type concept car was introduced a while back, the president of Ford was asked what might stop the British-based division of his firm from building a real-world version of the handsome roadster.
"Stupidity," was all Jac Nasser could think of to say, and now it turns out that that is not a condition that inflicts the current management of the legendary company.
As expected, Jaguar will go ahead with a production car bearing the F-Type name and the concept car's compact dimensions. The announcement that Jag will go with a fifth model was made at the auto show here recently.
Jag officials were quick to tie a knot from their company's future to its past, so the name of the legendary E-Type was quickly and relentlessly in evidence. The F-Type marks the company's "return to the true sports car market," they said, a market "which it helped to create in the 1950s and 1960s."
In announcing the decision Jaguar's chairman, Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle, said, "Jaguar is one of the most evocative brands in the world and there is a renewed commitment at Jaguar to create cars that stir people's emotions. The overwhelmingly positive reaction across the globe to last year's concept has convinced Jaguar to build the F-Type roadster." Unfortunately for roadster lovers, the chance to requite themselves will not come quickly. "Due to the unprecedented growth and intensity of new product development at Jaguar today," Reitzle said, "it will take us approximately three years to deliver the F-Type program to market."