Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has expressed his desire to use Jaguar and Land Rover technology should Tata's bid to buy the two firms from Ford prove successful claim weekend media reports.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has expressed his desire to make use of Jaguar and Land Rover platform technology should Tata's on-going bid to buy the two firms from Ford prove successful claim weekend media reports.

Tata Motors is Fiat Group's closest external strategic partner with a range of joint ventures already in place including vehicle and component production as well as purchasing and technology sharing. Tata Motors and Fiat have just inaugurated a joint factory in India which will shortly being producing the Linea and Grande Punto models alongside the currently built Palio. The two also have a joint dealer network in India.

Tata Motors is also expected to seal the purchase of Ford's Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the very near future after being named 'preferred bidder' last month ahead of its two rival suitors: fellow Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra and the private equity firm One Equity.

It has been widely rumoured that Fiat Group will evaluate platforms and technology used by Jaguar and Land Rover if Tata's bid is successful, but it was believed that the real interest to Fiat centred on the two brand's United States distribution and dealer network, which would be a perfect fit for Alfa Romeo's planned stateside re-launch.

English media sources yesterday quoted Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, who had previously expressed a brief look at acquiring the two brands, as having a interest in using the technology. The Sunday Times quoted Marchionne as saying that 'Fiat’s close association with Tata would make it possible to share Jaguar’s rear-wheel drive chassis platforms and Land Rover’s four-wheel drive systems. The first application would be a new flagship model for Alfa Romeo.'

That new flagship model (Project 941), which has been dubbed by the media as the "Alfa 169", is due to be launched late next year and will be specifically targeted at the US market re-entry. This luxurious saloon is expected to be around 4.9 metres long and will be designed to meet the forthcoming stringent 6-star EuroNCAP crash test criteria. Developed in-house at Alfa Romeo Centro Stile, the design team have been evaluating a wide range of transmission options including rear wheel drive and transaxle (automatic gearbox), classic RWD and AWD. The most favoured option thus far has been to mount the car on an adapted Maserati Quattroporte platform.

The Engish newspaper added that Marchionne was also open to expanding the relationship with Tata to Europe, and would 'look at the possibilities' to bring the new ultra low cost (£1,200) Tata Nano model, that was unveiled to worldwide attention at the 9th New Delhi Auto Expo last month, to the region.

However Tata Motors has responded swiftly and cautiously to the weekend media reports. This morning it issued a statement denying any talks have so far taken place with Fiat regarding Jaguar and Land Rover technology: "Tata Motors, which is engaged in focused and detailed negotiations with Ford on the Jaguar Land Rover business, clarifies that the company has had no discussions with Fiat on deployment of technologies developed by Jaguar and Land Rover," read the statement. The India firm also stated that it expects negotiations with Ford to prove successful: "Tata Motors is pleased by the progress in the discussions with Ford to date and hopes that both the parties can reach an agreement in the forthcoming weeks," it added.