So there I was, bombing down a half mile straight, hunkering down into the seat to try to help the C-typeâs tiny aviation windshield keep the rain out of my eyes and nevertheless grinning from ear to ear.
Itâs a tough job, but when Jaguar invited Tartan Tarmac to the launch of their Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience, it seemed rude to refuse.
Jaguar suddenly seem to be pulling out all the stops to embrace their marqueâs heritage. In July they acquired the James Hull collection of over 500 cars, in September they announced the acquisition of Prodriveâs former Fen End circuit and proving ground in Warwickshire, three weeks ago they announced the creation of their Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience and now here we are on a press day to hear more about Jaguar Special Operations, of which Jaguar Heritage is a part, and to enjoy a âtasting menuâ of the driving experiences to be available to paying customers.
John Edwards, MD of Jaguar Special Operations, openly admits that historically Jaguar hadnât been so good at recognising their heritage, but insists that they âget itâ now.
At first appearances, things seemed quite similar to efforts from other manufacturers. There has been a big push on the genuine parts side of the house and there has been a modern tribute car in the shape of the Project 7 F-type based homage to the D-type. Now we have a clothing range. Uh-oh, I thought, weâve seen the likes of this before.
However, I tip my (Goodwood Revival costume) hat to Jaguar for going way past marketing pastiche and doing a proper job. They do indeed seem to get it. Perhaps that has been the influence of Harry Metcalfe, Mr Evo Magazine to many, who is heavily involved in the venture.
Letâs not be too rose tinted here; the purpose is to make money and promote the brand; but as plans go, I think the following one has been a good effort :-
STEP 1. Re-invest in the brandâs spiritual home at Browns Lane by creating a Jaguar Heritage Centre there
STEP 2. Demonstrate commitment to the most famous products by tooling up to manufacture perfect new versions of the lightweight E-type for the unused six chassis numbers in the original allocation
STEP 3. Demonstrate commitment to the UK motoring industry by acquiring the abandoned Ryton plant and setting up the Heritage workshops and production facilities there
STEP 4. Acquire the biggest collection of historic British cars in the world, thus keeping them together on these shores and use some of them to create a heritage driving experience for more than just âselect clienteleâ
Which brings me nicely back to the day at Fen End. Jaguar are offering a variety of experiences, ranging from a passenger ride for ÂŁ95, through a few laps in your favoured production classic for ÂŁ250 and on, for those with a little more in the recreation kitty, to a full hospitality style day driving everything from historic race cars, classic sports saloons and the latest performance models for the tidy sum of ÂŁ2000.
The driving instructors are accomplished peddlars from the classic race scene, including classic Le Mans winners no less, and they are charged with informing and educating you as well as keeping you and the cars pointing in the right direction.
On this launch day, a little more advice could be garnered from two further well known attendees, Sir Stirling Moss and Norman Dewis. Personally I preferred the stories of trying to qualify a Jaguar Mark 7 for the Carrera Panamericana (and also trying to use one of the first ever car-to-pits radio systems to find out if the crumpet looked as good up close as it did passing at 100mph on the banking).
The initial facilities are temporary buildings but, perhaps by way of compensation, Jaguar have kindly placed their âperfect tenâ cars in there for the early weeks of the venture. This collection was selected by Ian Callum, Brian Johnson and Lord March to represent the most significant available range of cars to represent the leaping catâs heritage. It includes no-brainers like the D-type and the one-off XJ13 as well as the oldest surviving E-type roadster and Sir William Lyons own former XJ6 daily drive.
The cars available to drive will probably be rotated out of the greatly expanded collection but included, on this day, S1 and S3 E-type, XK150 OTS and roadster, John Coombes prepared Mark 2 racer and FIA paper carrying C-type and D-type recreations.
Our format on the press day was a quick taster for each car, so thereâs no in-depth analysis on the dynamic capabilities of the fleet here but it certainly provides a variety of sensations, showing the technical progression and the different purposes of the cars. For example, the purpose of the flat-based seats in an XK150 was clearly not to go around a track with someone you are not on extremely close terms with!
I was very pleasantly surprised about how easy the C-type is to drive and how good the feedback is through the chassis, but if Iâm honest, the âOMG Iâm actually driving thisâ factor was thrilling enough.
Having grown up in the back of my fatherâs Mark 2 Jags, mere leggy used cars at the time, it was a treat to drive the John Coombes prepared race version. Iâm sure my Dadâs old smokers didnât brake like that!
The day ended with a brief shot in the latest F-type R Coupe. 550PS and 680Nm were quite a contrast, but a couple of quick laps at Fen End was no way to properly assess a car like that so we are sure Jaguar will be eager to provide a longer term test carâŚâŚ..hint hint.
Comments and question welcome on the forum.