Jaguar has followed in the footsteps of stablemate Land Rover by launching a new hands-on driving experience enabling people to get behind the wheel of Jaguar cars on a track and test their capabilities to the full.
The Jaguar Experience is aiming to emulate the success of centres that are now dotted around the world.
Unlike the Land Rover centres, which offer off-road driving experiences to showcase the Solihull-based car-maker’s 4x4 capability, the Jaguar Experience will be a track-focused one to demonstrate the driving dynamics of its latest models in line with the marque’s sporting heritage.
It represents a 海角视频 first for the car-maker as it aims to drive global growth with a raft of new models, which include its recently launched , the and an all-new XF saloon.
Would-be customers who sign-up for a Jaguar driving experience will be able to put Big Cats, including the F-Type sports car, through their paces at the MIRA testing circuit in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
In addition to the driving element, the Jaguar Experience also sees the launch of a range of factory tours for people who want to see how Jaguars are put together at the firm’s Castle Bromwich production plant.
And, as part of the scheme Jaguar’s conference and event facilities at Castle Bromwich are also being opened up to the wider corporate community. Conference and event bookings can also be combined with driving experiences and factory tours.
Zoe Amarilli, venues operations manager at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “There are 49 Land Rover Experience centres worldwide and they have proved very successful.
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“We haven’t really done that for Jaguar before and are using the Land Rover Experience centres as a mirror.
“We did launch a Jaguar Performance Academy in the US last year but this is the first dedicated facility in the 海角视频.
“Jaguar Land Rover has invested £11 billion developing all of its factory sites and Castle Bromwich has seen a large chunk of that.
“We wanted to create an experience centre where people can be immersed in the Jaguar brand.
“If someone wants to experience the Jaguar brand and be part of the good news that is Jaguar Land Rover this is their opportunity.
“We also have a brand new driving experience at MIRA and there is no better way to fully appreciate the brand than to get behind the wheel of a Jaguar.”
The opportunity to drive new Jaguars on track might be the headline feature of the latest move but Jaguar is also investing heavily in its factory tour programme.
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The car-maker has run tours previously but the programme has been revamped from the ground up with a view to offering “something for everyone”.
Castle Bromwich tours cover either the production of the F-Type sports car or XJ executive saloon and range from a standard factory tour at £45 to a VIP experience for couples which costs £295. There are also tours available to see XE production at Jaguar Land Rover’s Lode Lane plant in Solihull.
Those who sign-up for tours can see Jaguar’s cutting-edge aluminium press shop where lightweight body panels are pressed.
The facility has recently seen a £61 million investment in a new D-line pressing facility, which can boos production capacity five-fold.
Visitors can also see assembly lines and the plant’s paint shop, which is the size of eight football pitches and takes up to 12 hours to coat each vehicle from start to finish.
The 112-acre Castle Bromwich factory site has been home to Jaguar since 1977.
The plant started out as an Operation Shadow Plan military factory in 1938, a programme which was initiated by the British Government prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.
With military production capacity already stretched, 22 new factories were created - Castle Bromwich being the 12th.
It became famous as the place where the Supermarine Spitfire was predominantly built.
In all 11,798 of the aircraft were built in Castle Bromwich, which represented 80 per cent of all the Spitfires built.
Later in the war the factory was also used to build Lancaster bombers, with 305 of the aircraft constructed there.