TWR Supercat Part 4

Not a Fan of this myself, except for the Engine but it only helps to make a Standard XJS look an even better Car for a fraction of the Price

TWR Restomod V12

 

Saw this at the LA Auto show at the weekend. Its very impressive in person, and good to see the XJS get some attention!

 

I would want a new chassis for the price they are asking. Think they have mistaken the market too.

 

I like the XJS for it's lines.
Putting all the boy racer aero crap on the car is just a distraction.

 

Talking of new models, it may have escaped North American members that last week Jaguar fired their advertsing agency, the one that prepared the strikingly woke and trans launch videos etc etc for the new 'Lady Penelope' electric aesthetic disaster that may or may not be launched towards the end of this year. Herewith:
and the aesthetic disaster:

Personally, I would have fired the clowns inside Jaguar who signed off on the ad too.

 

There was an interesting discussion about this on the Jaguar Enthusiast Club podcast.

After listening... I would have fired the team as well.

 

The JEC (as published in its magazine at least) has got itself in a rather embarrassing spot, it seems to me. It has hailed the new approach as exciting and modern etc etc, and that the new Jaguar management has been bold and perceptive etc etc. That thesis being rather undermined by subsequent events.
While it hails the new model as being a wonderful modern interpretation of Jaguar's historical success resulting from their being 'a copy of nothing'; its appreciation fails to grasp that being a copy of nothing is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition of success. The car can be a copy of nothing but still be something nobody wants to buy.
Take a peep at this photo of a Jaguar technician climbing out of the car on the stand in Paris:


Now decide if the wife of a 50/60/70 + something (who else will have 100,000 UKP - 135,000 USD - to spend?) will want be seen doing this at the door of the Ritz.

 

Jag made it clear in the press releases that the car was a design study and direction. They gave it the moniker Type 00 to indicate it was a protoype and not a production car. It went over like a lead balloon becasue its garish, uninteresting and too progressive.

As for the TWR Supercat, it dropped about the same time and I got to see and experience it in NYC. It's another let down for the brand for similar reasons. Designed by young woke'sters infected with a similar mind virus, that uses Instagram like social media as a vector. Insta and the like traffic in controlversary and shock value. The TWR has that by way of is Insta Famous Designer... Khyzyl Saleem. His brand "LTO" or Live To Offend it the perfect name for the garish neaveau rich post covid world that has emerged, Offensive Black accents, useless scoops, sharp lines, hard creases and over the top extremities poking the air in untested directions all look great in 2D video games where the 14 year old pre-pubescent brain spends most of its time... And video games is where Khyzyl Saleem has found all of is commercial success. Makes sense. Insta also says manual unassisted brakes are cool becasue that's was Porsche enthusiasts uses on their 2400 Lb cars so it must be perfect for everything.

 

I agree that JEC is between a rock and a hard place. They need factory support (or at least cannot be in conflict with the factory), and so cannot ask the difficult questions.

It was the content of the conversation I found interesting. My impression after listening was that because the high-end GT/Sports market is saturated, they had to shockingly go in a different direction. I was also under the impression the Marketing Director is not a "car guy".

I understand the logic that the market may be saturated, and of course this is NOT 1947 or 1960, or some other time related to the XK-120 or E Type. But consider: If the market today is saturated with choices, what about a time wihen the buyer could also choose between Alfa, AC, Austin Healey, Aston Martin, MG, Maserati, Lancia, DeTomaso, Nash-Healey, Scarab, Sunbeam, TVR... the list is seemingly endless. This is not to say that they were all great cars, merely that a buyer had a lot from which to choose, and Jaguar was able to stand out. Price alone is not the reason; an XK-120's base price was about 1,200 pounds, the Austin Healey about 200 pounds less expensive, ditto the MGA Twin Cam and Triumph TR3...the AC Ace Bristol about 800 more... The choices were there. It wasn't marketing that made the difference, it was value for the money spent, and performance up to the billing. Car guys get that. Marketers do not.

 

Those are both awful. IMO.

Doug

 

The Type OO spotted video is FAKE and IA generated. This whole thing is a debacle from end to end.

 

It seems to me that the development mule was better looking than the finished product of the supercat.