July 201 9\JaguarWorld|1 1NEWSNNNNEEEEWWWWSSSS
MikeCross,themanresponsibleforthe
handling,comfortandprecisionofall
currentJaguarmodelshaswonAutocar
magazine’sLifetimeAchievementAward.
HavingjoinedJaguarCarsin1984,
Crossbecamechiefengineeracrossthe
JaguarandLandRoverbrandswhenthey
mergedin2008.Hehaspersonallyfine-
tunedandgivenfinalsign-offoneachand
everyJaguarandLandRovermodelsince.
DescribedbySirJackieStewartas,
“thebestdriveroutsidemotorracing,”
Cross’sexpertisehasbeencrucialin
developingtheoutstandingdriving
capabilitiesofadiversearrayofmodels
intheJaguarline-up.
JaguarLandRover’sCEO,ProfDrRalf
Speth,said,“Mikehasbeenanabsolutely
integralpartoftheglobalsuccessof
JaguarLandRover.Withadeep-rooted
passionfordriving–nottomention
aseeminglylimitlessdepthoftalent–
Mikehashelpedustodevelopsomeof
themostadmiredcarsintheworld.
“ExperiencingMike’screativityfirst-
handisextremelyspecial.Notonlyisheenormouslyfastbehindthewheel,but
hedriveswithalevelofprecisionand
safetythatplaceshimalmostinaclass
ofhisown.ThecarsMikehashelpedus
developarecriticallyacclaimedinthe
mediaandconsistentlypraisedbyour
customerstheworldover.
“HehasworkedtoensureourLand
Roverproductsareaspeerlesson-roadas
theyareoff-road,developedoneofthe
world’sfinestluxuryproductsinRange
RoverandhehasensuredtheJaguarbrand
consistentlyproducesthesharpest-handling
carsintheirrespectiveclasses.We’re
extremelygratefulforeverythingMikehas
achievedandhopetohavehistechnical
excellencewithusforalongtimeyet.”
JaguarhasevolvedunderCrossinto
abrandwell-knownforimpeccable
handling.Heoversawthedriving
characteristicsofJaguar’sfirstSUV,
theF-PACE,fine-tunedthehandlingof
itslatesticonicsportscar,theF-TYPE,
whichharnessestheperformanceofits
‘R’performancemodels,includingXFR,
andhonedthedynamicsofthefirstall-electricJaguar,theI-PACE.
SaidCross,“It’safantastichonourto
receiveanawardlikethis.
“I’vehadmanyhighlightsinmylife,
fromdrivingaFormula1cartotackling
theMilleMiglia,butreceivingthisawardis
amemoryI’lltreasureforaverylongtime.
“Imustgivemuchofthecredit
tothetalentedteamofpeoplethat
workalongsidemeindesigningand
engineeringJaguarLandRovermodels
fromthegroundup.It’sanenormous
undertaking,requiringgargantuaneffort
andtalentfromeveryoneinvolved.
“OutofalltheJaguarcarsI’veworked
on,oneofmyfavouritesistheJaguar
XFR.Weweregoinghead-to-head
withmodelspreviouslythoughttobe
unbeatable,andallofasuddentheXFR
waswinningmagazinegrouptestsagainst
thelikesofBMW,AudiandMercedes.”
Headded,“I’vealsobeenlucky
enoughtodrivesomeincredible
machineryovertheyears,allofwhich
have–intheirownway–shapedmy
opinionsondrivingdynamics.CROSS HONOURED
AnotherawardforI-PACE
FreshfromsuccessattheWorldCarAwardsinMay,theI-PACE
hasnowwontheBestElectricPowertrain,BestNewEngineand
the350PSto 45 0PScategoryattheInternationalEngineand
PowertrainoftheYearAwards.Thesethreenewtitlesrecognise
thetechnicalexcellenceoftheI-PACE’szeroemissionspowertrain,
whichwasdesignedanddevelopedin-house.
ThedecisionwasannouncedattheEngineExpoandthe
PowertrainTechnologyShowinStuttgart,afterapanelof 70 judges,
madeupofexpertmotoringjournalistsfrom 31 countrieshadtaken
intoaccountkeycharacteristicsofthecars,includingperformance,
drivability,energyefficiencyandrefinement.
SaidIanHoban,JLR’spowertraindirector,“We’veusedallthe
benefitsofstate-of-the-artbatteryandmotortechnologyto
createaworld-classelectricvehicle.Aswellaszeroemissions,the
all-electricpowertraindeliversanidealbalanceofperformance,
refinementandrange,togetherwithoutstandingresponsiveness,
agilityandday-to-dayusability.
“I-PACEisatruedriver’scarand,aboveall,atrueJaguar.We
setouttomaketheworld’sbestall-electricperformanceSUV.
Theseawardsreflectthat,andarefittingrecognitionforwhatthe
engineeringteamhasachieved.”