JAGUAR TO JOIN THE PARTY IN DETROIT AT THE DREAM CRUISE

 This weekend the infamous exhaust note of our all‑new Jaguar F‑TYPE will add to the cacophony created by the 40,000 or so American classics, hot rods and muscle cars cruising Detroit’s Woodward Avenue for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise – writes Stuart Schorr, Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC.

If that isn’t a big enough surprise, behind the wheel of the F‑TYPE will be none other than Jaguar Design Director, and passionate hot rod fan, Ian Callum.

For the past 18 years, Ian has never failed to participate in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance “weekend” in California where he’s been an official judge and Jaguar ambassador.

But, as a lover of American “muscle” cars however ‑ he owns a gorgeous 1932 Ford Model B “Deuce Coupe” and a ’56 Chevy Two‑Ten custom sedan ‑ Ian has always been disappointed that the Dream Cruise has landed on the same August weekend with Pebble Beach.

With this summer’s landmark launch of the all‑new Jaguar F‑TYPE, Ian felt the time was right to head to ‘The Motor City’ and showcase Jaguar’s first new sports car in 50 years at this weekend’s Woodward Dream Cruise.

How could we not be there? After all, this is the world’s biggest one‑day automotive event with an estimated 1.5 million performance car enthusiasts lining both sides of Woodward Avenue between Pontiac and the Detroit city limits just south of 8‑Mile.  The United States will be the F‑TYPE vehicle's largest market, and the crackling V8 S model, its best seller.

Ian and I will be “cruising” Woodward with a pair of 2014 Jaguar F‑TYPE roadsters ‑ a 495‑horsepower supercharged F‑TYPE V8 S and a 380‑horsepower supercharged F‑TYPE S.

When we’re not in the cars, we’ll be based in the parking lot of the famous Vinsetta Garage restaurant ‑ the oldest gas station east of the Mississippi and a true Motor City landmark. It’s on Woodward near Catalpa Drive in Berkley, 20 or so miles out of Detroit.

This is such a fun place. It’s been around since 1919, and after they stopped pumping gas in 2011, the building was bought and lovingly‑restored by Curt Catallo and KC Crain, VP and group publisher at Crain Communications, and transformed it into a terrific restaurant.

Ian and I are also excited that there’ll actually be another Jaguar F‑TYPE cruising Woodward with us. Since 1992, Joe Roeder, who’s a service consultant at local Jaguar retailer, Jaguar of Troy, has been transforming Jaguar cars into look‑alike police cars for the Woodward Cruise weekend in honor of fallen Michigan police officers. Joe, who is an auxiliary sergeant with the Hazel Park Police Department, will be behind the wheel of his special Jaguar F‑TYPE police car this weekend.

We’re really looking forward to joining the Dream Cruise with our Jaguar F‑TYPE and seeing the crowd’s reaction to our modern British muscle car. One thing’s for sure; the awesome sound of the exhaust from the F‑TYPE V8 S will fit right in with all that American muscle.

Of course, while Ian and I will be in Detroit this weekend, Jaguar Land Rover will naturally have a strong presence on the Monterey Peninsula. We’ll be hosting our Friday evening Jaguar VIP party in partnership with Playboy to introduce our new high‑performance models, including the 2014 F‑TYPE, XJR and ultra‑track‑ready 550‑hp XKR‑S GT. We’ll also have our sensational Project 7 Concept Car making its North American debut on the Pebble Beach concept lawn on Sunday.

Follow all our activities during this, the most exciting and important weekend for America’s automotive enthusiasts, by going to www.interactivejaguar.com throughout the weekend.