Innholdsfortegnelse for Aug/Sept 2023 i Classic Jaguar

The car that made the world pay attention to the Jaguar brand has turned 75. The Jaguar XK120 was the model that put the company on the map, not only beginning a much-loved dynasty of sporting greats, but propelling it to international motorsport success and siring the engine that powered the company’s products for a generation. And given the size of the celebrations at Jabbeke when it reached the half century, the very least we could do was join in on this occasion. So welcome to a 132-page bumper issue of Classic Jaguar, featuring 45 pages of exclusive XK content. Peter Simpson tours Cumbria in the last of the line, we show you how to buy the original, and Rob Hawkins guides you through what you need to know if…

Racing enthusiasts with big garages and bigger bank balances are now able to buy faithfully restored replicas of the ZP E-types campaigned by Roy Salvadori and Graham Hill. The cars, replicas of BUY 1 and ECD 400, are only available to buy in pairs comprising one Oulton Blue roadster and one Crystal Grey fixed head. Each car will be based on the specification of an early 3.8-litre E-type as built between 1961 and 1964. The cars are described as being informed by the originals, rather than true reproductions. Each is fitted with Bridge of Weir leather trim and an aluminium centre console engraved by artist Johnny “King Nerd” Dowell. The Oulton Blue roadster acknowledges Graham Hill’s race-winning example with an engraved silhouette of the Oulton Park circuit and his quote “In…

We wrote in last month’s news pages of the relaxation of EU rules to permit environmentally conscious e-fuels – and they are now with us. Renewable fuel specialist Coryton has launched the UK’s first publicly available sustainable fuel range. The SUSTAIN Classic range is formulated for classic vehicles and will allow them to be fuelled by environmentally conscious plant-based fuels without the need for expensive engine modifications. SUSTAIN Classic is available from Motor Spirit at Bicester Heritage, with further stockists to be announced in coming months. The fuels are manufactured from agricultural waste including straw, at Coryton’s state of the art UK biofuel facility. Three versions are available – Super 80, Super 33 and Racing 50, with the number denoting the percentage of sustainable material used in its manufacture. Super 80…

The Mercedes-Benz SL was the car to have in the 1970s and 1980s – nothing screamed success quite so loudly as the drophead German on the gravel driveway. And while many rivals were offered in its 18-year lifespan, most of those came with fixed roofs courtesy of scare stories from America, where it seemed that the open car could well be banned. But as that scare passed, more upmarket convertibles and conversions trickled onto the market. The Jaguar XJ-S came in for its fair share of conversions, notably from Ohio-based converter Hess and Eisenhardt. But it was the launch of the XJ-SC in 1984, developed in part by Aston Martin’s Tickford subsidiary, that really started the ball rolling for Jaguar. For the first time since the E-type it had a…

When the XK140 made its bow at the 1954 London Motor Show, Jaguar faced the significant challenge of refining the design of the 1948 XK120 without destroying its raison d’etre. Their achievement was enhancing the appeal of the original model to create a family of sports cars with ‘smoothness, silence, tractability and road adhesion.’ By 1954, the USA took almost half of Jaguar’s output, and that market’s demands shaped many of the XK140’s improvements, including larger bumpers with overriders and flashing indicators. It could be further distinguished from the XK120 by its larger headlamps, modified grille with thicker vertical bars and rear reflectors. The famous 3442cc DOHC engines were to XK120 SE tune; higher-lift camshafts, alerted porting, a lightened flywheel, uprated valve springs, high-compression pistons, stiffer torsion bars and rear…

It’s never been a better time to join a car club and if you own a Jaguar or a Daimler – whether it’s a prewar classic or the latest all-electric I-PACE, your first choice is the Jaguar Drivers’ Club. The JDC not only caters for the needs of all Jaguar drivers, but offers events, social meetings and tours that are second to none. Already this year, the Club has toured the New Forest, the West Midlands, the Scottish Borders and Northumberland and parts of the West Country. We’ve spent a weekend in Oxford, sailed to the Isle of Man, and by the end of the year, we will have toured Spain and Portugal, visited the Normandy Beaches and be getting ready for next year’s tour of Holland and the Dutch…

We’re back at Anglia Car Auctions in this issue, this time for its third event of the year. With over 280 cars offered across the two-day event, Anglia’s sales are getting bigger and bigger – though with only 14 Jaguars and Daimlers that meet our criteria for Classic Jaguar, numbers of those brands were down on the last sale. We were present at the sale, and the car that caught our eye was a lovely dark red 240. It might have had a 340-style red badge, but everywhere else looked to be original, with Ambla trim that smelled right and lovely early reflective plates instead of the ubiquitous black and silvers. A bereavement sale and not used for some time, the car nonetheless was very straight and came offered with…

The 75th anniversary of the XK-series is to be celebrated at Kelsey Media’s new Best of British show. Taking place on Saturday 3rd September at Turvey House, Bedfordshire MK43 8EL. It will encompass the whole world of classic British motoring, from the Mini to Rolls-Royce and Bentley – and will feature a number of displays organised by Kelsey’s motoring titles to celebrate what makes our motoring past so magnificent. Central to the event will be the Classic Jaguar display to commemorate the XK120’s 75th anniversary. We are keen to hear from owners of XK series models who would like to take part, and would welcome entries via our website and contact with our editor at sam.skelton@ kelsey.co.uk. We would also love to see as many other Jaguars as possible in…

There was a time when the word limousine didn’t conjure up images of drunken women in short skirts on a hen night. When it wasn’t about taking a large American saloon and inserting an extra ten feet in the middle. When, in short, the limousine could offer class. Back in the post war era limousines were large, stately cars designed from the ground up to take eight passengers in formal surroundings, and naturally they made the perfect automotive accompaniment to jobs in state or jobs which required a degree of respect be paid. British Motor Holdings was in an enviable position in the mid-1960s – shy of a Rolls-Royce there were only two traditional limousines on offer to mayors, funeral parlours and the like – and both were built by…

There’s a well-worn cliché used by motoring journalists to describe a fine car which was missing something major: “A great engine in search of car” or “a great car in search of an engine” are still widespread in print today. But in the case of the Jaguar XK120, all the elements came together beautifully to create a legend. The 1948 Earls Court event remains a landmark in the annual show’s illustrious history. The first since the end of World War II, it signalled Britain’s slow return to normality – albeit a normality still burdened by food and fuel rationing and the necessary Export or Die mantra which resulted in the majority of new cars made going abroad. Those few lucky owners at home had to sign a covenant not to…

In October 1956, Jaguar temporarily retired from competition racing. Sir William Lyons was to tell the media later: 'This decision was made only after serious consideration and was due to the very heavy strain imposed by racing on the directorate and staff of our Engineering and Development division.’ As a result, the factory had a stock of several D-Types while the firm's North American dealers anticipated a demand for a "Class C" production racer from their customers. Accordingly, on the 21st of January, the company issued the following statement: Jaguar is to produce a new 2-seater sports-racing car as a result of the increasing demand from America for a type of vehicle equally suitable for normal road use and sports car racing. The new model, which, initially, will be for…

Well, this is a little bit awkward. I signed off my last running report on my 3.2 Sovereign by talking about a Daimler Six I had viewed back in September, that needed work and didn’t feel as special as my Sovereign to me. I’m starting this one, in the very next issue, by announcing that I have in fact bought it. I clearly have a problem… In my defence, what I paid was less than I had been offered the car for before, and some of the faults it had had at the time have been rectified. There was always a good car lurking underneath it, but when weighing up whether it was worth it to me I didn’t think it was. And now I do. So why this car…

The XK120 might have earned itself a good reputation as a road and race sports car, but Jaguar had higher ambitions for it. The company had plans for Le Mans, and the car was developed with this event in mind. Known as the C-type as its original and lastminute name of XK120C stood for competition, 53 were built and 43 sold to enthusiastic private campaigners. Under the skin of the C-type lurked familiar components, wrapped up in a triangulated tubular spaceframe chassis and a lightweight and aerodynamic aluminium shell, developed by Chief Engineer Bill Heynes, Bob Knight and Malcolm Sayer. The 3.4 litre XK unit in the XK120 road car developed up to 180bhp depending upon specification, this was increased to 205bhp for the earliest C-types, while later cars used…

NON IDENTICAL TWINS Love the magazine and I always enjoy a comparison article but .... wouldn't a manual XJ6 2.8 have given the 3500S a closer run? Or an auto 3500 against the slushbox Jag? If you could have found an entry level 2.8 without overdrive that in itself would have been an interesting rarity. I recall driving a 3500S back in the 80s and finding its leaning in corners somewhat alarming. I also prefer the Rostyle-esque wheel trims that I think were standard and makes it look much more sporting. I have a 1972 S1 4.2 manual and (although probably not for long) an XJ40 4.0S. I’m looking forward to the XJ-SC v Mercedes SL twin test in your next issue, which should be good (provided they are both…

For my last outing I relished over one thousand miles of trouble free motoring at its finest (and being a V12, its most costly), and whilst driving home through Snowdonia my thoughts turned to the next trip. The forthcoming guidebook still required Kermit’s assistance for a tour through central Wales, an area grandly titled the Cambrian Desert, such an evocative name being guaranteed to help book sales! I am never one to miss out on photo opportunities so included the ancient hills of the Long Mynd on the outward journey to Newtown in Mid Wales. The starting point of the tour was the period frontage of Britain oldest unchanged WH Smith shop, looking precisely as it did when its doors first opened in 1927. The route devised followed high ground…

It’s often a pipe dream that there is an abundance of mothballed classic Jaguars, which are dry-stored around the world, that simply need a little air in the tyres, some fresh petrol in the tank and a fully charged battery to bring them back to life. The reality of discovering such a barn find, as they are called, is much worse, but it’s not entirely a case of doom and gloom. Let’s assume that not every barn find is in immaculate, time-warppreserved condition. However, selling such a vehicle as having been stored away, instead of simply abandoned, helps to raise its profile and thus its price. A desirable detail to look for in this case is the claim that it has a low number of owners, which helps to suggest…