So, how do you take on the Germans on their home turf and win?
I’m sure that’s the question that has been troubling the people charged with making sure the Jaguar F-Pace SUV arrives at the Frankfurt motor show with a bang this evening.
Jaguar and Land Rover have a long history of dramatic new car reveals, from having Daniel Craig drive the new Range Rover down public streets in New York, through to an Jaguar F-Type driving through the crowds in Los Angeles, and the slightly bizarre but in every way ambitious unveiling of the Jaguar XE through the medium of a full-on stage production at London’s Earls Court. But taking the Germans on on home turf is something else again.
Read our initial thoughts on the Jaguar F-Pace SUV
Of course, a big headline for an evening doesn’t make a car a sales success, but there is something about the drama of these launches that sets a tone that resonates long beyond the unveiling itself, not least because they are all broadcast live now.
I’ve genuinely got very little idea of what is in store, but you can bet your bottom dollar that it will be worth watching. Launching a car that is described variously as a Audi Q5, BMW X3, Mercedes GLE and Porsche Macan rival at the German’s home motor show demands something spectacular to make any kind of impression.
The event in Frankfurt is being held away from the show halls, which suggests that the firm is going to do things on a grand scale - something you can check out for yourself as the event – which is set for tonight at 19.15 - is being filmed and will be embedded into our story as the covers come off the F-Pace.
Stay tuned beyond then, though. Autocar’s team is on the ground across all the pre-show reveals, and there’s every chance that there could be an avalanche of grand unveilings, not least from the aforementioned German makers.
It strikes me that Audi , BMW, Mercedes and Porsche have all been unusually quiet in recent weeks. Which suggests we could all be in for an awesome evening.
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Perhaps Roadster will deliver
Huh? Everyone knows what it