Jaguar scoops top prize at Scottish Car of the Year Awards 2006

The new Jaguar XK Coupe has been voted overall ‘Car of the Year’ and ‘Sporting Car of the Year’ at the Scottish Car of the Year Awards 2006.

The awards were presented by President of the Association of the Scottish Motoring Writers Stephen Park who commented: “The Association of Scottish Motoring Writers are delighted to award our Scottish Car of the Year accolade for 2006 to the Jaguar XK Coupe. Despite so many fantastic category winners, the XK Coupe emerged as a clear overall champion. Perfectly proportioned from every angle, and designed by Scotsman Ian Callum the XK is also thoroughly accomplished on the road. Furthermore, the imminent addition of a supercharged derivative to complement the normally aspirated 4.2 litre engine, adds further strength to the Jaguar’s case.”

The ‘Car of the Year’ award for the XK was collected by Jaguar’s UK Managing Director Geoff Cousins who said: “I am especially honoured to collect this award for what we believe to be a truly deserving winner. The XK made an immediate impact in the UK when it was launched in March this year and already more than 2,000 customers in the UK have taken delivery, with Scottish dealers recording a 57% growth in XK sales compared to 2005. Scotland continues to be a significant market for us, with more than 1,100 vehicles sold this year while XJ sales have increased by 40% since 2005.”

The ‘Sporting Car of the Year’ award for the XK Coupe was picked up by Jaguar’s Design Director Ian Callum who said: “I feel very proud to have led the team that created the award-winning XK and it's even more special to me to collect the prize in Scotland from the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers. The XK is undoubtedly the most advanced car Jaguar has ever produced and marks the beginning of a whole new chapter for the company.”

Commenting on the XK Coupe winning the Scottish ‘Sporting Car of the Year’ category, Stephen Park President of the ASMW continued: “The Dove Publishing-sponsored Sporting category was undoubtedly one of the most fiercely contested but from the moment I drove Jaguar’s new sports GT, I just knew that my fellow ASMW members would agree that this is a seriously special machine.

“By their very nature sports cars have to offer certain features. Exhilarating thirst for speed, unparalleled excitement as well as precision handling and ride qualities. No strangers at creating objects of sheer desire, Jaguar’s latest creation, the all-new XK Coupe, delivers at every level.”

The Jaguar XK Convertible was also runner up this year in the ‘Drop Top’ category. The ever-growing popularity of the XK is not only due to the assertive good looks created by Ian Callum, but also that the 4.2 litre sports car is the most technologically advanced Jaguar ever built.

In July at the British International Motor Show, Jaguar unveiled the new XKR – an uprated 420bhp V8 supercharged sports car which captures the essence of what makes a Jaguar XK so special. Described as being the new XK plus 30%, the XKR inspires drivers of all abilities with confidence thanks to its rigid, all-aluminium lightweight body and superb chassis control and grip levels. This combination complements the outright pace of the car, delivering a perfect balance between a GT cruiser and an exhilarating sports car.

Globally, Jaguar has already sold nearly 10,000 XKs with the order bank still growing. The XKR is hot on its heels, with advance orders of 1,500 vehicles globally (800 in the UK market alone) even though it doesn’t arrive in showrooms until November. The XK continues to be one of the most dominant cars in a fairly static sector up 9% this year with sales increased by 74% year-to-date on 2005 and 72% month-on-month.

The XK has already picked up some notable awards since its launch this year including ‘Car of the Year’ and ‘Best Coupe’ awards at the Auto Express New Car Honours 2006. At the beginning of this year, What Car? magazine voted the XK ‘Most exciting car to be launched in 2006’ while other awards were in recognition of exceptional safety features on the car: the Prince Michael Award for Safety and the World Traffic Safety Symposium’s Traffic Safety Achievement Award in the Automaker category.