Niki Lauda Announced as Chief Executive Officer Of New Premier Performance Division

    LONDON, Feb. 6 Three times Formula One champion Niki Lauda
has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Premier Performance Division
-- a newly formed division of the Premier Automotive Group established to
oversee, coordinate and support the motor sport activities of Jaguar Racing,
Cosworth Racing and the Pi electronics group.
    The Premier Performance Division will be the motor sport arm of the
Premier Automotive Group, the Ford Motor Company business group responsible
for Jaguar, Aston Martin, Volvo, Land Rover and Lincoln.
    Neil Ressler, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Ford Motor
Company, who took over as interim Chairman of Jaguar Racing and helped to
re-structure the team in 2000, has elected to retire.
    Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle, Chairman of the Premier Automotive Group, the new
Premier Performance Division and Jaguar Cars said: "I am delighted that Niki
Lauda has decided to join us and once again devote all his time to racing.  He
is unique in the sport for his knowledge and experience and his straight
forward and result-orientated approach."
    Niki Lauda, said: "It is good to be back in racing on a full time basis
and I am looking forward to immediately getting started on the challenge
ahead.  My role will be to help put in place the building blocks to enable all
these companies to realise their full potential and to work together to best
effect.  Jaguar Racing has a strong Chief Executive and leader in Bobby Rahal
and he will be able to continue to focus on running the F1 team and improving
Jaguar Racing's competitiveness."
    Bobby Rahal, Team Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Jaguar Racing
added "Niki's knowledge of all aspects of formula one racing and his proven
credentials as an astute businessman make him the ideal choice for this
position.  Niki's new role will enable me to clearly concentrate on my
objective when I joined the team -- and that is to develop Jaguar Racing into
a championship challenging team."
    One of the most successful drivers of the modern era, Lauda won 25 grands
prix between 1973 and 1984 and was three times world champion (1975/77/84) for
Ferrari and McLaren.  After retiring from the sport he established and
successfully operated his own airline -- Lauda Air -- which he recently sold
to the Austrian Airlines Group, the national Austrian carrier.  He will no
longer serve as a professional airline captain but will focus exclusively on
motor sport.  Lauda will remain President and main shareholder of Lauda Air
Italia S.A.
    Jaguar Racing is the Formula One racing team of Jaguar Cars.  Established
in September 1999, the company employs 335 people and operates out of Milton
Keynes, UK.  The team will begin its campaign for the 2001 Formula One World
Championship at the Australian Grand Prix on 4 March 2001 represented by
drivers Eddie Irvine from Northern Ireland and Luciano Burti of Brazil.
    Cosworth Racing employs 725 people at its Northampton (UK) headquarters
and at its North American base in Torrance, California.  The company became a
wholly owned Ford Motor Company subsidiary in 1998 and has an annual turnover
of 112m pounds sterling.  Cosworth Racing supplies racing engines to the
Jaguar Racing Formula One team, the Ford World Rally Team and to CART and
NASCAR.  Cosworth was founded in 1958 by Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth.
    Pi Group Ltd., is headquartered in Cambridge in the UK with a further
three locations in the United States.   The Company was founded in 1987 and
became part of the Ford Motor Company in 1999.  The company provides
electronics for the automotive industry and is a supplier of data logging
equipment and other advanced electronics to Jaguar Racing.  Pi Group employs
300 people at its locations in the UK and the United States and has an annual
turnover of 30m pounds.