It isn't for nothing that the so-called Big Three in the US automotive industry, composed of General Motors, Ford Motor, and Daimler Chrysler, are fighting it out with all their guns a-blazing for the King of the Detroit Hill crown. The multi-billion dollar auto industry is virtually now up for the taking as younger and more innovative automakers are posing a considerable threat on the market share of the traditionally respectable car makers.

In the automotive industry, a car-maker is considered to have arrived if its marquee models have landed on the Detroit Auto Show. Your car is probably on the D-List if it has not. The annual Detroit Motor Show is where the crème de la crème of latest car models break cover. The 2007 edition of the show is made even more promising with the introduction of the Ford subsidiary's vaunted Jaguar XF.

Aimed at keeping the competitive edge of Jaguar, the XF is set to replace the S-Type saloon. Folks at Jaguar commissioned the Fuore Design International to take care of the XF10’s aesthetic and ergonomics. The resulting XF10, industry observers say, is a visual feast complemented with added luxurious Jaguar parts. Inspired by Jaguar’s campaign on the Formula One and Grand Prix race tracks, the sleek Jaguar XF10 is in part made of such stuffs that create legends: Speed and beauty.

The Jaguar XF10 boasts of a leaner and meaner look than the retro-pastiche S-Type. With this build, the XF10 is earmarked as a performance saloon—and potential 5-Series rival—than a comfort luxury cruiser.

The technical aspect of F1 and Grand Prix racings found its way on the lightweight steel exterior of the Jaguar XF10, and accentuated through what the vehicle sports under its hood. The two-door beast-of-prey look of the Jaguar XF10 is probably enough to command respect on the streets, what more if the vaunted improvement on the already powerful Jaguar S-Type proves accurate.

Behind the name, the “X” serves as tribute to the legendary two-seaters from Coventry that hit the most beautiful boulevards of the world in the 50s. The “F,” on the other hand, represents the birth of the idea behind this concept car—Formula One. And the number 10 is in reference to the car’s 10 cylinders— the configuration of the engine common to Formula One.

Incidentally, the scheduled launch of the Jaguar XF10 comes on the heels of the tribute display in honor of 1955 Le Mans winning Jaguar D-Type drivers Mike Hawthorn and Ivor Bueb at Hatfields Jaguar in Mexborough, Yorkshire. Fifty years into its F1 success, the celebrated Jaguar of Mexborough-born F1 world champion Hawthorn serves as flashpoint for the promising XF10.

This new banner car from Jaguar will make its debut on Jan. 12 at the Detroit Auto Show. This early, it is being touted as the next big thing to come out of the impressive Jaguar stable. That the XF10 will surpass the success of the D-Type on the race track is yet to be seen. But, as the auto industry waits for that, it is reassuring that Jaguar is making an effort to make its future is as glorious as its past.

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