Jaguar today unveils the new S-TYPE Sport at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy, a venue favoured by lovers of performance cars. With its distinctive colour-coded exterior, sports interior with grey stained maple veneers, 18-inch alloy road wheels and sophisticated Dynamic Stability Control System, the S-TYPE Sport is a car for the true driving enthusiast.

"Since its launch last year, the distinctively stylish S-TYPE has fuelled a Jaguar sales explosion across the globe." said Jaguar's Managing Director, Jonathan Browning, "The S-TYPE Sport will build on this success by satisfying the needs of predominately younger buyers who demand a more sporty, purposeful, dynamic character, both inside and out."

The Bologna Motor Show in Italy has built up a reputation over the years as an event for lovers of performance cars. Top drivers take part in speed events held within the show grounds while in the show's halls the Italian public indulges its passion for beautiful and powerful cars. "It is the ideal environment," says Jonathan Browning, "to show the new face of Jaguar: youthful, bold, stylish - and with spirited performance. That's why we chose Bologna to introduce the new

S-TYPE Sport, a car that embodies all those qualities. We think it will capture the imagination not only of the Italians, but car enthusiasts across Europe."

The S-TYPE Sport, subtly restyled to appeal to younger drivers, will be available with the 240 bhp three-litre 24 valve, four cam V6 or 281 bhp 32 valve, four cam four-litre V8 power unit. In both three and four-litre versions, the S-TYPE Sport offers a superb combination of enhanced specification and value for money. Developed by a young team of Jaguar designers, the S-TYPE Sport reflects the tastes of their generation, with a 'dechromed' body and an exciting wheel design the keynote items in its exterior styling.

The car's interior is also influenced by young tastes, with darker tones and sports leather seats emphasising its sporting spirit and contemporary feel. In line with the performance aspects of the Sport name, both three and four-litre versions are equipped with Dynamic Stability Control, while the four-litre car also has Jaguar's well-respected Computer Active Technology Suspension (CATS) as a standard fitting.

The Sport is immediately recognisable by its fully colour-coded exterior, which emphasises S-TYPE's sculpted, flowing lines. The grille surround, bumper blades and number plate plinth are colour keyed to the body in a range of five metallic colours - 'Anthracite' (black), 'Carnival' (red), 'Emerald' (green), 'Pacific' (blue) and 'Platinum' (silver) - replacing the chrome components of the standard car. Both versions are fitted with front fog lamps as standard. These subtle but effective changes give a whole new slant on the S-TYPE's appearance, with the 'Anthracite' model offering a certain 'stealth-like' appeal. The identity of the Sport model is confirmed by a unique bonnet badge.

The S-TYPE Sport's visual impact is further enhanced by 8 x 18-inch 'Monaco' alloy wheels from the company's R Performance Options range. The seven-spoke BBS 'Monaco' wheels are of a modular, two-piece construction, similar to that used in racing, with die cast and spun rims for greater strength. The fixing screws are titanium - one neatly concealing the valve. Pirelli's high performance P Zero 245/40 tyres provide excellent grip and give the Sport a distinctive road presence and steering feel. The Sport's wheels have a silver finish unique to this model.

Inside, the performance theme is continued by the choice of dark tones for the upper facia moulding, the door top rolls, carpets and mats. This contemporary theme is carried through to the wood veneers, which are in grey-stained bird's-eye maple, a finish first used on the XKR 'Silverstone' limited edition. Leather sports seats in a choice of four colours - 'Almond', 'Cashmere', 'Pewter' and 'Warm Charcoal'- are standard fitment. A leather covered steering wheel is also standard.

Ian Callum, Jaguar's Director of Design, who oversaw the efforts of the young styling team, is pleased with the results. "They have created a car with attitude," he commented, "and that's the kind of youthful approach we wanted to expand the appeal of the S-TYPE. Just as we developed the looks of the XK8 to create the purposeful XKR, we were determined to give the S-TYPE that same impact. I wanted it clean and mean, and that's what the team delivered."

In terms of the driving experience, the S-TYPE Sport benefits from the improvements introduced into the S-TYPE range for the 2001 model year. These include Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), which links the anti-lock, traction-control and steering systems to control the onset of oversteer by automatically applying the brakes to a combination of any of the four wheels.

Also introduced for 2001 is a new ZF power steering system, which combines improved steering feel with lower noise levels and a reduction of vibration at the wheel. The ZF system is an electronically-controlled speed-proportional design that combines ease of low-speed manoeuvrability with excellent feel at higher speeds. Detailed changes to the engine management systems of both V6 and V8 engines reduce warm-up time (for optimum catalyst performance and reduced emissions). Idling speed/smoothness and throttle response, both at take off and in normal driving, are also improved.

The four-litre Sport is fitted as standard with Jaguar's unique adaptive damping system - the Computer Active Technology Suspension (CATS) system, similar to that fitted to supercharged Jaguar XKR sports and the XJR saloon models. CATS optimises ride and handling by using uprated springs to increase roll stiffness, and two-stage adaptive dampers under electronic control for ride refinement. The CATS dampers have two sets of characteristics under the control of an ECU. Vertical accelerometers on the bulkhead and in the luggage compartment, a lateral accelerometer within the underbonnet engine-control module housing and a brake switch.

These provide sensor inputs that enable the ECU to adjust the damper settings to suit the driving conditions in micro-seconds, thus optimising ride and handling. The result is a unique combination of agile handling, outstanding ride comfort and driver control.

As well as adding an individual style to the S-TYPE, the Sport also offers excellent value for money. At an on-the-road price of £30,600, the Sport 3.0 V6 costs £3,900 more than the standard 3.0-litre S-TYPE. However, the additional equipment included in the Sport specification (silver 18-inch Monaco wheels, metallic paint, leather upholstery, sports seats, floor mats and front fog lamps) represents a value of £4,580, an effective saving to the customer of 14.8 percent.

With an on-the-road price of £38,400, the Sport 4.0 V8 costs £3,050 more than the existing V8-engined S-TYPE. In this case, the additional equipment (CATS, silver 18-inch Monaco wheels, sports seats and floor mats) represents an enhanced value of £3,605, an effective saving to the customer of 15.4 percent. There is no additional charge on either model for the unique elements of the Sport derivatives.