Driver Magazine - Issue 1 Dec 24 (3) - Flipbook - Page 48
Now though, Bentley is seen as one of the most premier and prestige brands in the entire world
and its imagery reflects that. Not only is its messaging and ethos changed with ownership, its
styling has too. The Continental of the early to mid 20009s was a radical departure from the
Continental of just 5 years before, it evolved and changed as the brand stepped out from its past
but didn9t turn its back on it.
Or, to bring it back to what people deem to be 8quintessentially British9 – Morgan.
Morgan are seen as the archetypal British sports car. A symbol of a nation9s illustrious past. But
they too have changed a lot in their 110+ year history because of how the market around them
has changed (this point is reference to the 8Aero9 series). Since their buyout in 2019 by an Italian
venture capital firm, the range has changed significantly in both their marketing messaging and
the actual construction of the cars, let alone their styling.
The firm which invested into Morgan, Invest Industrial, also are the same company which helped
to fund Aston Martin a few years ago and greatly changed their market positioning too whilst
driving up demand for the new cars in new markets to new customers but not a word was said
about these 2 great British icons changing… maybe it was a sign of the times.
Jaguar9s positioning in the market has always been somewhat unclear. It fought against the
likes of BMW and Mercedes, but never quite took either by the scruff of the neck like it had done
to its other competitors in its heyday of the 1950s and 1960s. Back then, you wouldn9t have had a
mid-range Jaguar – they were the choice of transport for the rich, the gentry and the bank
robbers alike.
People (and by that I mean some journalists and social media users) have been saying that
Jaguar will be dead in 5 years or saying that changing the direction the leaper faces is an afront
to the British identity all without actually seeing the car or definitively being told what the
companies new direction is. But, there are also those who have been wholly supportive of the
change from seeing the car as being 8for old men in an old country9 to something which dances
along the lines of what could be a bright, brave and beautiful new future – a point which I think
the Type 00 concept does very well.
The car itself will not be what we see in the concept car, the renderings or anything like that but
will take inspiration and influence from the ideas and questions that it brings up.
Jaguar are not turning their back on what they have accomplished. By the sounds of some
peoples reactions, you would have thought they had gathered up every E-Type in existence and
burnt them in a giant pyre on the grounds of the famous Brown9s Lane factory – but no, they still
very publicly and openly celebrate their proud and extensive history but this is a new Jaguar.
44
