Autoblog

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Hot on the heels of the impending sale official sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata and news that Fiat is looking to start producing Alfa Romeo vehicles in the U.S. are reports that Fiat would be interested in partnering up with the new Jaguar ownership to share rear-wheel-drive platforms for their high-end Alfa models. Tata and Fiat already have close ties, as Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, is a member of Fiat's board and the two companies jointly produce engines and transmissions in India.

In addition to possible platform sharing between Jaguar and Alfa, Fiat is also interested in using the existing Jaguar and Land Rover dealer base in the U.S. as a way to ease Alfa's re-entry the American market. Anything that helps get Alfa Romeo back in the U.S. is fine by us, but there are surely issues with selling what could possibly be competing brands from the same dealer lots.

[Source: The Financial Times]

It's becoming increasingly apparent that India's largest automaker Tata cannot be stopped. On the verge of finalizing a deal to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, Tata is now rumored to be interested in buying a stake in one of the most beloved performance marques of all time: Ferrari. We stress that this is a rumor, because it stems from a quote given by Tata's chief Ratan Tata to Italy's L'Espresso in which he reportedly said that he's always dreamt of being a fighter pilot (takeover of Bob Lutz?) and participating in the shareholding of Ferrari.

The reason this rumor has some legs is that Tata already has an established relationship with Ferrari's parent company Fiat. It's on the board of Fiat and has some engine supply deals with the Italian automaker. Fiat owns an 85% stake in Ferrari with an option to purchase an additional 5%. Could Tata, the maker of the world's least expensive auto, one day have a stake in the company that builds some of the world's most expensive and exotic autos? We wouldn't bet against Tata at this point.

[Source: L'Espresso via Motor Authority, Automotive News - sub. req'd]