Innholdsfortegnelse for Dec/Jan 2025 i Classic Jaguar

Ever since the death of their father, Alice Fenton and her younger sister, Nancy, had shared the old family home; Gainsborough, in Tamworth Road, Coventry. The evening of Saturday March 18th, 1960 saw Nancy extremely concerned about her sister’s condition. Alice had been complaining for the last few weeks of headaches, numbness and feelings of nausea. Tonight was different though, the ever-bright Alice seemed easily confused, she was struggling to see and was completely numb on one side of her body, worst of all, a terrible unrelenting headache. Nancy, in despair, called an ambulance. Alice was rushed into an intensive care ward at the Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital. Nancy sat in the waiting area having accompanied her sister and medics in the ambulance. After an hour’s wait, the duty matron…

OPINION It’s about time we accepted it, however reluctantly. Electric cars are the future. Even for those of us who see it as Betamax technology and espouse synthetic fuels as the solution, it is clear that – for a generation at least – the electric car is the way we are going. I spoke in my last column about the future of Jaguar and why it has to move toward electrification if it is to survive. That’s fine, I’d rather live in a world where Jaguar continues to exist than in a world where it joins Daimler, Rover, Triumph, and Wolseley in the pantheon of former British marques abandoned to the mists of time. But I can’t help but feel that there’s a fundamental flaw in the way that electric…

OUT AND ABOUT! It’s been another busy year at the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust. Back in June on one weekend alone we had vehicles out at four events from as far south as Jersey, to as far north as the Shetland Islands. It’s true to say that we have got about a bit. We were also invited to join the XK 75th parade at Goodwood Revival in our two XK120s NUB 120 and LWK 707 and the prototype D-type OVC 501. We also had our Le Mans winning XJR-9 displayed on the Jaguar corporate stand in Earls Court, alongside unique and precious artefacts from our collection. On display was the Alpine Gold Cup, 1953 Le Mans winning trophy, Mike Hawthorn’s racing visor and examples of JaguarSport teamwear from the 1980s…

RATAN TATA 1937-2024 Indian industrialist and former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has died, aged 86. The man who arguably did more than any other to guide JLR to its current position, he was instrumental in the commissioning and development of the F-TYPE sportscar. When interviewed for in house media statements upon his retirement from the company in 2012, he said: “The Jaguar F-TYPE holds a very personal place in my heart as it is something I pushed through the company. When we acquired Jaguar, there was no true sports car in the model lineup and nothing in the future plans. My feeling was that Jaguar had such a rich racing heritage and a tradition of building great sports cars. We needed to recreate the image of Jaguar, once again,…

OPINION For the first time in a while, I drove an X351 generation of XJR the other day. Despite having a 0-60mph time so quick it turned my eyelids inside out, I couldn’t help but think in terms of its looks, ride and handling, the big car lacked much of the elegance and refinement that has always made the original XJ6 such a standout model. As Autocar magazine said in a May 1969 issue, “We believe that in its behaviour it gets closer to overall perfection than any other car we have yet to test, regardless of price.” Over 55 years later I still say that’s true. I’ve driven all sorts of classics over the 25 years I’ve been messing around with cars for a living but in terms of…

It’s that time of year again, when piles of Quality Street tins greet you as you walk into Sainsbury’s and Jingle Bells can be heard from open shop doorways. But for us car fanatics, November comes down to three letters – NEC – and the Lancaster Classic Motor Show. The Jaguar Drivers’ Club is aiming to match, if not better, its stunning display at last year’s show with another exciting display of very special Jaguars. This year’s theme will be the anniversary of the last E-type to leave the line at Browns Lane and what better cars to mark the occasion than… the very first and the very last. We are delighted to have not only the final black ‘Commemorative’ V12 roadster on our stand, courtesy of JDHT, but that…

JAGUARS ON TOUR 1986 SERIES III 4.2 SOVEREIGN My Series III’s latest expedition proves two things: that, in the UK, you are a long time waiting for perfect roadtrip weather, especially in the north of England during Autumn; and that UK families used to manage weekends away before bloated 2.5tonne SUVs became the de facto choice. For me, family holidays always began in the back of a saloon. I am told surprisingly often how cramped an XJ is inside, usually by someone who is smaller than me and who has never sat in one. I am a little over 6-foot and have never been anything other than gloriously comfortable in the Sovereign, although I concede that the pedal position is not tailored for size 12 feet. ‘Pedantic’ may not be…

We are currently offering for sale a large selection of Jaguar and Daimler brochures ranging from Series III through to the present day. These will be listed in our November 2024 magazine which can be viewed online free of charge. Here is a small selection - to view the entire collection please visit www.xclusivelyjaguar.org/november-2024 P&P (per item) £5.00 UK, £10.00 Europe, £15.00 RoW - Reduced postal cost for multiple purchases by request. 1987 Range Fold-out Poster Size: A4 – opens out to 80cm x 60cm - landscape Number of pages: 16 x A4 Description/Content: A4 and double page spreads feature the Silk Cut XJR-6, the new XJ40 range, the Series 3 V12, XJ-S Coupe and XJ-S Cabriolet. Beautifully illustrated with only the crucial details taking up minimal space! Part/reference/print number/date:…

The vast assortment of potential upgrades available for most Jaguars can feel a bit bewildering. Should you not wish to stray too far away from standard, then at least that decision helps to narrow the choice down a little, but there are often many period modifications to confuse you into wondering which way to turn. And how do you know whether they will make a noticeable difference? We’ve looked into many of the popular modifications that are available for Jaguars, outlining the work involved in fitting them and listening to owners to determine whether they have been a worthwhile investment. The following pages list our top ten of recommended upgrades, with advice on what’s involved in fitting them and what improvements to expect. POWER STEERING CONVERSION If your Jaguar’s steering…