Tata mulls Jaguar return to Le Mans
Jaguar XJR-9
Ratan Tata would like to see Jaguar return to Le Mans someday, and seeing as he owns the British marque's new parent company, he probably has a lot of say in the matter. Tata expressed his wishes at his company's annual meeting at the end of July, but jag aficionados shouldn't get their hopes up just yet. There's no timetable attached, and when asked for further clarification, a Tata rep told Endurance-Info.com that nothing has been finalized. Jaguar and Le Mans were synonymous in the 50s, when it won the race outright 5 times between 1951 and '57 with its C- and D-Type racers. It later returned to the top of the podium in 1988 and 1990 with the XJR-9LM and XJR-12, respectively. It would be great to see the cat return with a factory effort in one of the prototype classes.
[Sources: Business Standard, Endurance-Info]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Noidor 5:16PM (8/02/2008)
It's going to be very interesting to see how India's approach to running a worldwide business will play itself out over the course of next 5-6 years. I believe India has the best economic model anywhere in the world, and a solid way of running daily business operations.
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RPM 5:21PM (8/02/2008)
Looks like Tata is going to take Jaguar back to its peak. Its days as an also-ran brand are over, I think it has potential to be a serious competitor to the Europeans and Japanese.
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Mayur 5:35PM (8/02/2008)
I'd like to see comments from the folks who thought Jaguar was down the drain since an Indian bought it.
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Metar 5:40PM (8/02/2008)
That livery was one of the greatest. Shame it'd be a barcode nowadays... If Silk Cut still exist.
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Richard 6:57PM (8/02/2008)
The livery was great.
The car was stonking!
TaTa, just dot it! Bring back Jag and get the brand identity away from one that is for 60-year old divorcees in ugly blazers or (and?) too much make-up.
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Richard 7:01PM (8/02/2008)
That livery was great!
The car was stonking awesome!
TaTa, just do it! Deliver Jaguar from the market place hands of 60 year old divorcees in bad blazers and too much make-up.
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Joce03 8:36PM (8/02/2008)
I remember reading that Jaguar was working on a race-car based on the XK. I wonder if they'd send that to LeMans?
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Mobius_1 8:54PM (8/02/2008)
I personally would like to see Jag back with a racing XK, up against the 911's and F430's that typically form the GT3 grid
Or if they stick a bigger engine, go up against the Astons and Vettes (and Lambo etc)
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Alex 9:57AM (8/04/2008)
I grew up in a world where Jaguar was going through its descension. I'll be bringing my children into an era when Jaguar is returning to dominance!
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