Tata unleashes the Big Cat, And also goes mud-plugging with elan

To many it seems as if the Jaguar brand name was archaic and old world and probably this manifestation could have some germ of truth in it for the immediate decade after independence we did have Indian royalty and also rich enthusiasts bring in Jaguar two-seater sports cars and also some of their fast saloons. Yes even in Pune we had the awesome sight and sound of the classic XK120 and XK140 sports cars running to peak performance in the annual road races organized by the now defunct Deccan Motorcycle Sports Club (DMCSC) at the Lohegaon aerodrome. The Yuvraj Kumar of Gondal won many a race in his Jaguar XK120 and many others followed this all over the land.

Jaguar suffered dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s when the dubious amalgamation of the British automotive industry took its toll on many a brand. However, it managed to rescue itself from much harm by ignorant bureaucrats and got back on to a strong footing plus also getting back to its roots. This mini-renaissance of sorts promised much, so much so that Jac Nasser bought the company to become the cornerstone of Ford's much touted Premier Automotive Group (which in its heyday also included Aston Martin, Land Rover and Volvo).

Unbeknown to many, Ford invested heavily in Jaguar (and also Land Rover), especially in processes, systems, design and engineering. Jaguar was well on its way to doing the business when to save the parent company from a perilous situation in north America, Ford first sold off Aston Martin and then put both Jaguar and Land Rover on the market. Tata Motors was one of the most serious of the buyers and it picked up these two brands for what was a sum decidedly lower than what Ford had bought the two brands for, and more importantly far lower than what it had invested in them. It is a different thing that the present economic downturn caught Tata Motors on the hop but no one could have foreseen this when Ratan Tata and team went about acquiring these automotive gems.

I do remember interacting with Ratan Tata almost a decade and a half ago when Tata Motors was just getting into stride with its Sierra and Estate models to kick off its foray into automobiles. At that point in time itself he had said that he had a vision which was then a wish that it was better to go into the market with high profile models and brands and use them to establish the base of the pyramid models. Of course it never happened that way but if any one would care to understand, Tata Motors did the early spadework for Honda's advent into India (it almost went into a JV to make the Accord but the government played spoilsport). Tata Motors also helped Mercedes-Benz India get off the ground with the very first E-class series and just about a couple of years ago it tied up Fiat as its partner to share manufacturing and technology for a range of cars under both the Tata and Fiat brands.

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Jaguar Portfolio

Jaguar Land Rover - as the business is termed in the UK, is a different and very high profile animal however. What it has got going for itself in the real world - read that as Europe and the US, its biggest markets by far, is traditional British craftsmanship coupled to a great engineering heritage which has been bolstered mightily by Ford's engineering expertise and systems. If that is not all, the new breed of big cats, both in saloon and coupe forms, are not just noticeable because they are not German but because they do take the fight to the Germans and are not disgraced in the skirmish.

Jaguar's product portfolio today includes the XFR saloon and the XKR grand tourer, the latter available in both closed coupe and open-topped cabriolet body styles. Both these cars are highly accomplished and in fact the recent models have gained a fan following notably for their dynamic prowess making them as potent a match to the likes of the BMW M5 and the Porsche 911. Yes this is serious stuff indeed and totally unthinkable just five years ago but the new found engineering zeal has seen Jaguar pull out not all but many stops to get into a position of reckoning against the might of BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

Jaguar will offer the XFR and the XKR to discerning enthusiasts in India via the CBU route. The XFR saloon range begins at Rs 63 lakhs while the Ferrari and Porsche rivaling XKR sports coupe gets going from Rs 92 lakhs onwards. And just if there are those who want to have an even more exclusive big cat on wheels, the highly personalized Autobiography treatment would see you shelling out a crore of rupees for the Jag of your choice!

Land Rover Portfolio

And then there is Land Rover, the marque which introduced the automotive world to luxury four-by-fours and also provided just as competent a rival to the famous Jeep. Land Rover remains uniquely placed and totally distinctive in its brand identity plus also the make-up of its products. The styling of its products is unmistakable yet carries a lineage that can be traced right back to the original some five decades ago. Land Rover caused a massive stir some three decades ago when it launched its plush Range Rover model, a car which was so luxuriously outfitted and turned out that many were wondering whether it was ever to be taken off road. In fact the Range Rover was the very first SUV with great road manners and this trend continues today with even more capability and dynamism.

In fact, many are of the opinion that BMW bought Land Rover just to get to grips with the exclusive and proprietary all wheel drive technology it possessed and when it learned most if not all about it, it sold off the brand to Ford! What is undisputed however is that it was found in many a household in Europe which had a Rolls-Royce, the second car was inevitably a Range Rover! If this suggests many things it is of course indicative of what the product and the brand have done for themselves.

And let's not forget that the sheer utility of the Land Rover products has also seen them as very hardy performers in defence forces across the world while also being impeccable performers in various municipal utilities. Overall it is a well rounded portfolio but Tata Motors must learn how to keep the character of these brands intact and not mix them up with Indica, Punto, Palio, Nano. This more than anything else would be key to their overall proliferation, not just in India but all over the world.

In India, Land Rover would offer, to begin with, the Discovery and the Defender as well as the awesome and accomplished Range Rover Sport, a car which makes even the impressive Toyota Land Cruiser shy away from a head-on confrontation. The Discovery range starts from Rs 63 lakhs and expect to pay upwards of Rs 89 lakhs for the Range Rover.

There will be just one single dealership to begin with for these two brands in Mumbai but within the next 12 months there will be a total of seven dedicated dealers nationwide for Jaguar Land Rover. What these two will bring is a massive dose of fresh automotive appeal, classic and traditional on one hand with cutting edge tech to rival the best Germans. It is an irresistible automotive delicacy for those who can sign large cheques with disdain even in these tough times but for that you get ultra exclusive machines which even the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche would be hard pressed to emulate.