Big motorsport not on Jaguar agenda

Don’t expect Jaguar to follow marques like Aston-Martin, Bentley and Porsche back to the racetrack to tackle big name events or championships any time soon... That’s the clear message from one of the marque’s key executives, and a man with his hands on the purse strings, Global Product Marketing and Planning Director, Steven De Ploey.

According to De Ploey, major racing series and events like the Le Mans 24 Hour are too expensive to pursue and not in the brand’s planning in the short or even medium term.

“Looking at the size, obviously, of the company and the capability as such, we are excluded from some of the very highly capital, you know, investment-intensive race series,” De Ploey told motoring.com.au.

“I’d also think, these days, it is appealing to such a limited portion – even of premium intending, performance customers – that that would be not really a wise spend of our limited resources,” he stated.

Jaguar recently deferred its CX-75 hybrid supercar project after it became apparent it was unlikely the company could find buyers for the 200 vehicle volume the program was based upon. Ironically, the combination of the turbocharged small capacity IC engine and powerful electric powertrain is strongly aligned with new rules that come into force for Le Mans in 2014 and beyond.

Interestingly, however, De Ploey backed comments by Jaguar ‘heavy’ Adrian Hallmark and local Asia Pacific boss, David Blackhall, regarding the potential of a one-make series for Jaguar’s new F-TYPE sportscar.

“Would I exclude at this stage the possibility that with F-TYPE – maybe at a more country, at a regional level?.. A kind of more dedicated series, kind of a GT series or something... That could be a possibility,” De Ploey stated.

“We haven’t made any first concrete steps [however]... I think that will also be a bit of, now, the car [F-TYPE] interacting with the customers [and] the customers themselves coming back to us, and asking: ‘Would it be possible to provide us with a car that could be the basis of such a race series?’

“It’s something that might grow over the course of the next months, or whatever, but no decision in that regard taken on our side,” he admitted.

Asia-Pacific Jaguar Land Rover boss, David Blackhall recently slammed suggestions Jaguar could or should enter the V8 Supercar series branding the proposal “insane”.

The outspoken Aussie also took a swipe at Swedish prestige marque Volvo’s decision to join the Australian series.

This writer is on Twitter @petrolhedonist

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