JAGUAR has ended production of the car that was built to widen its challenge in the compact executive car market.
And customers have been rushing to snap up final examples of the X-Type built at Halewood on Merseyside.
Though the controversial model only reached the end of the line last month, fans bought 425 cars to effectively clear out stocks of the 'baby' model.
'We have experienced a very successful run-out and sales were up by more than 17 per cent as customers rushed to grab the last few cars that came off the line,' said managing director Geoff Cousins.
But the future looks brighter for the newest addition to the Jaguar range - sales of the XF were more than double in December to round off two years of unprecedented success in the showrooms.
After a posting an increase of 63 per cent for the month, registrations of the mid-size executive saloon reached a total of 10,108 last year - a massive improvement on the 8,885 sold in 2008.
'The XF has been a huge success for us in the UK. Nearly 60 per cent of owners are new to the Jaguar brand and owners of premium German brands are proving to be the keenest to buy it,' said Mr Cousins.
'The last part of 2009 saw seven months of consecutive sales growth for the car in Britain, and while market conditions have been challenging, it has steadily grown market share. We ended the year with an order book bursting with new customers - that's a remarkable result after nearly two years on sale.'
In December, 980 examples of the XF were sold, compared with 431 in December, 2008.
Jaguar's new XJ flagship model will go on sale in March priced from £53,775.