Innholdsfortegnelse for Aug/Sep 2024 i Classic Jaguar

Summer is almost upon us, and it’s time to get those classics out of hibernation if they’re not already in use. Like many, I currently have cars being readied for the road after a long break – and I can’t wait to get out there in them. But I wish I could have the wind in my hair – and that’s where we’re helping you out. If you want to enjoy the summer sun, there’s no better time to buy a Daimler SP250, and our buying guide will show you everything you need to know if you want to take the plunge. We’ve also got the best XJ-SC in the country in Tried and Tested, if you want to see a summer sports sensation you could actually go out and…

A Daimler V8 originally specified and used by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II reached over £100,000 in an auction with Bonhams on 29 April. The car, a 2001 Y plate in British Racing Green with Catkin leather, was used as Her Majesty’s personal car with several images showing it being driven by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Queen Elizabeth used the car from 2001 to 2006, returning it to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust in 2007. It was sold to a collector in 2009 at auction, having been disposed of alongside her previous Daimler V8, and has since lived in a heated garage. Specified to her precise requirements, each rear door included switches for both rear windows and the sunroof, a custom designed centre console featuring a…

Whether we want to admit it or not, a lot of us buy our cars based upon the image they project. We want to be seen as special, separate, exclusive - and this is why sales of the BMW 3-series began to routinely outstrip those of the Ford Mondeo around the turn of the Millennium. Jaguar drivers aren’t immune either we might admire the engineering of our chosen cars, but at least some of the decision - whether now or with their first Jaguars - will have been based upon what the car says about its driver. And Jaguar’s image in the early 1970s was stronger than it had been in a decade. The associations with London criminal types had been shaken off, the range was nearly new in its…

HISTORY THE ITALIAN JOB E-TYPE Worcestershire’s Malvern Hills might be beautiful, but they’re a long way from the Italian Alps, where this car became famous, or the British racetracks where it first made its mark. Yet, as I change down into second, then squeeze the throttle to feel the instant, smooth burst of acceleration, I can still sense the car’s magic, the beating heart that makes it special. Because, even as early E-types go, this one is especially important. Not only is it the 12th open two-seater produced, but its first few months saw this red convertible compete successfully at club level, followed by appearing in the classic 1969 film The Italian Job. It’s one of the three fast cars that the protagonist, Charlie Croker, plans to use as getaway…

PROJECT CAR 1985 DAIMLER 4.2 When we last left the project car, it didn’t start. And I’m sad to say up here at the top, we haven’t yet solved the issue. But we also haven’t been resting. Progress has been made. Progress, initially, with the sunroof - of sorts. Regular dealer contact and magazine friend Kim Cairns keeps a couple of breakers hanging around in case he ever needs parts for stock. I rang him and asked if either had a sunroof. When he replied in the affirmative I high-tailed it across to Snettisham to relieve one of his donors of its sunroof - covering the hole in the roof with expanding foam and sheet steel to keep the rain out. It’s not perfect, and the retaining spurs on the…

TRIED & TESTED JAGUAR XJ-SC 3.6 MANUAL The XJ-SC has always been just a little overlooked. Those who want an original XJ-S tend to buy the coupe, those who want a drophead tend to prefer the full convertible launched in 1988. The XJ-SC – the targa topped alternative – feels like the consolation prize, the one you buy when it’s all that’s left. And it really, really shouldn’t be that way. Because you get the joy of the wind in your hair without the buffeting – the fixed side windows act as perfect wind deflectors. And when compared with the coupe, visibility is on a wholly new level. Far from being an alsoran, it actually offers all the benefits of both alternative configurations. We borrowed a beautiful example last year…

The call for evidence by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) concerning its existing policies and registration processes for historic, classic and rebuilt vehicles is gathering pace, with both the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) and Historic & Classic Vehicles Alliance (HCVA) compiling detailed responses to help as many interested parties as possible negotiate the complex 46-question form. And while there are nuances in each organisation’s response, both want to see changes made to enable more classics to retain their original registration numbers, as opposed to being allocated a Q registration. The difference in response concerns the threshold at which a Q-plate should be issued, if at all. For context, both organisations agree there is no need for the DVLA to have a ‘rebuilt vehicles’ category, and…

The 2024 Supercharged Saturday event, held at Gaydon, was the biggest Jaguar Breakfast Club event yet. Over 400 supercharged examples and 300 naturally aspirated and turbocharged models gathered at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon, on Saturday 18 May. Cars were parked in segments according to model, with prominence given to the X300 XJR as it celebrated not only its own 30th anniversary, but 30 years of Jaguar production cars with superchargers. In attendance were luminaries from the development of that car’s engine, including Martin Joyce and Ady Stodart, and with all supercharged models represented from 1994 to the present day there was something on show for everyone. The Jaguar Breakfast Club is on tour this year, attending locations such as the NY500, Simply Jaguar at Beaulieu, and The Piston Club…

MODIFIED KOENIG XJ-S V12 Former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, “There is moderation even in excess.” If that’s true, it’s not something that the German automotive tuning expert Willy König understood. During his heyday in the Eighties, König’s extreme modifications became as synonymous with excess as a city banker’s bonus. König’s company, Koenig Specials, is more known for his Ferrari upgrades, but in 1980 he turned his attention to the Jaguar XJ-S, creating an outlandish body kit for the car, as well as offering several mechanical upgrades to improve its speed and handling. The result was arguably the most excessively modified Jaguar ever offered by an independent tuner, transforming the car from a subtle GT into a bahnstorming supercar. Unsurprisingly, with its dramatic looks and even more startling…

TECHNICAL CHOOSING A POLISHER Is an electric polisher a worthwhile investment for polishing your car’s paintwork and rectifying imperfections such as scratches and sunlight damage? We wanted to know the answers to such questions, so gathered eight different electric machines and tested them over several months on a variety of different vehicles, including a 1968 Jaguar Mk2 at independent Jaguar specialist Ken Jenkins. It was at Ken’s when we concluded there’s more to polishing a car’s paintwork than simply having the right tool. A good-quality sponge pad (or set of sponge pads with varying compounds) is essential, along with the right type of cutting compound or polish (depending on whether you are removing scratches, rectifying faded paintwork or creating a shine). And most importantly, you need knowledge, as we discovered…

TWR - the Berkshire firm established in 2020 by Tom Walkinshaw’s son, Fergus Walkinshaw — has revealed the design for its new TWR Supercat creation and is now taking orders. The business is a separate entity to the original Tom Walkinshaw Racing of the 1980s and 1990s, but is revisiting the original company’s long and fruitful association with Jaguar by selecting the XJS as the platform for its new supercharged V12 restomod. The Supercat will be strictly limited to 88 individual builds — a number chosen to celebrate the 1988 Le Mans win in the TWR Jaguar XJR-9. Penned by renowned designer Khyzyl Saleem in collaboration with car collector and fellow designer Magnus Walker, the Supercat retains the silhouette of the Jaguar XJS, but every exterior panel has been re-sculpted…

The demographic of classic car drivers is getting younger, with more than a quarter of them now aged under 40, according to research from Hagerty. With more Millennial and Gen Z drivers out there, there’s been a shift in the way so-called ‘modern classics’ are perceived - as reflected by the return of Hagerty’s RADwood festival celebrating 1980s and ‘90s machinery, plus the launch of a new index from the company charting the values of such vehicles. Hagerty’s findings show that 27 per cent of classic car drivers are aged under 40, up from 21 per cent four years ago. That information is not taken from a small sample; Hagerty insure around 2 million classic and collectable cars worldwide, and this demographic data is from those insured clients. “In terms…

FROM THE CLUBHOUSE JAGUAR DRIVERS’ CLUB THE MAIN EVENTS It’s hard to believe it’s July already and the Jaguar Drivers’ Club events team is busy getting ready for the most important gathering of the year – JDC National Day – this time at the new venue of Whittlebury Hall, Towcester (NN12 8QH). Just down the road from Silverstone, the grounds of this four-star hotel and spa will see hundreds of Jaguars and Daimlers line up on Sunday 14 July for the Club’s grand reunion and concours. And you don’t have to be a JDC member to join in this great annual event – everyone is welcome to join us in a Jaguar or Daimler of any era, from a pre-war SS to an I-PACE. And while members entering their cars…

JAGUARS ON TOUR 1986 SERIES III 4.2 SOVEREIGN I learned two things from the Series III XJ’s MOT pass this month: that it is still a good one, which is nice, and that, despite my best intentions, I really ought to use it more. In truth, I have driven it more in the previous 12 months than the 1,300 miles covered would suggest, but plenty of short trips and a few months off the road over winter clearly don’t amount to much. I have plans for more long haul trips this year as, let’s face it, that is what these cars were made for and they still relish the opportunity to progress - serenely - at speed. I contemplate this fact while cossetted, threading my way down the fast A-roads…

BUYING GUIDE DAIMLER SP250 The Daimler SP250 is Coventry’s forgotten sports car – and while it doesn’t utilise any Jaguar components, the later B and C spec models were developed with Jaguar money and under Jaguar ownership. Developed to attract new – and particularly American – owners to Daimler in the wake of the Docker departure, the SP250 was a useful side-effect of the plans to produce a new smaller saloon using an Edward Turner-designed V8 engine. While the saloon – the Vauxhall-based DN250 – never saw the light of day, Daimler management approved of the sports car concept. It used GRP bodywork to reduce the costs of tooling up and to allow for future redesigns, it was quick, and its underpinnings were conventional in the extreme having been copied…