JAGUAR HERITAGE NEWS – February 2013 report

JAGUAR HERITAGE NEWS – JULY/AUGUST 2013 REPORT
A bumper issue covering the summer season which has seen the opening of the new Jaguar
Heritage Gallery at the Coventry Transport Museum and many events where cars from the
Collection have been displayed, paraded or put through their paces! Read on for more…
New Jaguar Heritage Gallery Opens:
After several months of intricate planning, designing and construction, the new Jaguar
Heritage Gallery at the Coventry Transport Museum opened to the public on schedule at the
start of the school summer holidays on July 20.
The new Gallery is titled ‘The Jaguar Story – A History of Design and Technical Innovation’
and is split into five sections:
‘The Early Years’ (1920s to 1940s)
‘The Post War Boom and Glamorous 50s’
‘The Swinging 60s’
‘Growth and Consolidation’ (70s to 00s)
'Jaguar Present and Future’ (2005 and on..)
In addition to the stunning display of seventeen cars covering ten decades of Jaguar and the
role of the company in Coventry history, the Gallery also references the many technological
and design innovations behind these great vehicles. Contemporary storyboards, archive film
clips and spectacular imagery complement the sequential journey through the gallery, with
historical artefacts to illustrate Jaguar’s rich heritage – including a special display of personal
items belonging to Sir William Lyons and the famous portrait of him by Norman Hepple.
The full line-up of vehicles on display is as follows:
Early Years – 1928 Swallow Sidecar and 1928 Austin 7 Swallow (both Blackpool built), 1935
SS Airline, 1937 SS Jaguar 2½ litre
Post War Boom - 1949 Jaguar Mark V, 1953 Jaguar XK120 FHC, 1958 Jaguar 3.4 litre, 1958
XK150 DHC
Swinging 60s - 1963 Mark X, 1967 E-type OTS, 1967 Mark 2 3.8 litre, 1969 XJ6 Series 1
Growth and Consolidation - 1975 XJS V12, 1997 XK8 Coupe, 1998 S-TYPE
Present and Future - 2010 C-X75 Concept Car, 2013 Job #1 F-TYPE
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To provide more details about the specific vehicles on display, each has its own information
pod that displays specifications, model history and supporting images using the latest digital
LCD/LED display technology. There is also an interactive quiz game aimed at younger
visitors that can be played using smart phones, with a monthly prize of a model Jaguar car.
Entry to the Coventry Transport Museum is free and full details of opening times, directions
and other information can be found on its website by clicking here.
Opening Ceremony and Heritage Drive – August 1:
To celebrate the opening of the new gallery a special celebration event was organised for
the 1st of August. This not only enabled Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Dr Ralf Speth, to open the
gallery formally, but it also provided the perfect forum for the handover of the very first
production example of the new F-TYPE sports car from Jaguar Land Rover to Jaguar
Heritage. This maintains a long standing tradition where the first (and frequently the last)
production example of a Jaguar product line have been gifted to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage
Trust by the parent company for preservation.
To build up the excitement on the day, a small number of key media representatives were
invited to assemble at the impressive Hampton Manor Hotel where they were greeted by a
fine array of Jaguar sports cars ranging from Jaguar Heritage’s 1938 SS Jaguar 100 through
to the latest F-TYPE and including rarities like a C-type, D-type, XK-SS and XJ220. Every
significant sports car in Jaguar’s near 80
year history was represented and the lucky
journalists then had the chance to drive or
ride as passenger in a police escorted
convoy that made its way into Coventry city
centre.
The line-up made an impressive sight as it
swept along the A45 and negotiated a lap of
Coventry’s tortuous ring-road, before lining up
in the appropriate surroundings of Millennium
Square outside the Coventry Transport
Museum.
Following the inevitable photo opportunity, the drivers and passengers together with other
invited guests were ushered into the Museum and taken upstairs to the new gallery where a
special presentation took place. With Jaguar Heritage Trustee and PR Consultant, Stuart
Dyble, acting as Master of Ceremonies, interviews were conducted with both Joe Elliot,
Chairman of Coventry Transport Museum and Mike O’Driscoll, Chairman of Jaguar Heritage
prior to a dramatic handover of the Job #1 FTYPE which came bursting through a paper
wall with Ian Callum at the wheel! Dr Ralf
Speth was then invited to say a few words
and the event was brought to a close with a
rousing chorus of Happy Birthday for special
guest Norman Dewis, who was celebrating
his 93rd birthday!
Following the formal presentation, the guests
had the opportunity to walk round the new
gallery and admire the vehicles on display
together with the storyboards and images telling the story of Jaguar’s illustrious history.
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Recent Events:
Coronation Festival – July 11-14
The first big event in July was the Coronation Festival which celebrated the 60th anniversary
of The Queen's Coronation and took place from July 11-14 in the Gardens of Buckingham
Palace. This exciting and unique event, hosted by the Royal Warrant Holders Association,
brought together - for the first time on this scale - over 200 companies who hold Royal
Warrants of Appointment as suppliers of goods and services to the households of HM The
Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Prince of Wales. Jaguar Land Rover is
the only automotive manufacturer to hold all three Warrants, the first of which for each brand
were granted in 1951 shortly before The Queen's accession. Promoting the very best of UK
plc, the Festival celebrated innovation, excellence and industry through trade and craft.
Jaguar Land Rover was one of three key sponsors of the event and to generate some
advance publicity, a special media shoot was organised on July 7. Jaguar Heritage and the
Heritage Motor Centre were both asked to provide a selection of vehicles with royal
connections to support this event, which included the 1955 Mark VllM used by HRH Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother
and the 2002 Daimler Super V8
which was a royal relief car for
a number of years. A dawn
start was required in order to
complete the shoot before the
traffic built up, and the
Metropolitan Police did a great
job in escorting the convoy
across Westminster Bridge and
around the roads near
Buckingham Palace to get
some dramatic film footage and
stills. The cars were then
formed up in Horse Guards
Parade for some further shots.
For the main Coronation Festival event itself, the Jaguar and Land Rover heritage products
were lined up in the Rose Garden at Buckingham Palace where they could be viewed by the
60,000 visitors who came over the four days. As well as the 1955 Mark VllM, the display
included the famous 1961 Series 1 E-type 77 RW (owned by Mr Michael Kilgannon but on
long term loan to Jaguar Heritage), which was there as an
example of one of Jaguar’s most iconic designs. Jaguar Land
Rover also had a large display stand nearer to the Palace
where they were showcasing the latest products. HM The
Queen, HRH The
Prince of Wales
and six other
members of the
Royal Family
visited the Jaguar
Land Rover
displays during
the special
preview day on
the Thursday.
For further
images and information about this event, click here.
JLR CEO Dr Ralf Speth showing HM
The Queen the new Jaguar F-TYPE
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Goodwood Festival of Speed – July 11-14:
The Jaguar Heritage team were quite stretched over this
weekend as the annual Goodwood Festival coincided with the
Coronation Festival!
This year the Festival of Speed was celebrating its
20th anniversary and was larger and more spectacular
than ever, with many favourites and star acts from the
previous 20 years making a return visit. The feature
marque was Porsche with the venerable 911 model
celebrating its 50th anniversary being the centrepiece
of the sculpture on the front lawn of Goodwood
House. The 196,000 visitors over the four days were
treated to a feast of classic race and rally cars, an
amazing line-up of modern supercars and celebrity
drivers of all ages and nationalities.
Jaguar Land Rover was once again a major sponsor
and had a large presence at the Festival with separate
show stands exhibiting the latest products as well as a
number of cars taking part in the Michelin Supercar
runs including the XJR, XFR-S, XKR-S GT and new
Range Rover Sport. These were joined by one of the
C-X75 prototypes and also the Jaguar Project 7 - a
unique F-TYPE design study inspired by the D-type – that was driven by Mike Cross, JLR’s
head of Vehicle Integrity who is well known at Goodwood for his sideways antics on the first
corner!
Jaguar Heritage was also there in force with a lineup of four very special cars in the Cathedral
Paddock. These included the 1952 Montlhéry
record breaking XK120, the original 1954 prototype
D-type, the one and only XJ13 from 1966 and
finally the Le Mans winning XJR-9 from 1988 –
appropriately celebrating its 25th anniversary. This
was the first drive of the XJR-9 for a couple of
years and Jaguar Heritage was very fortunate to
have the services of Andy Wallace, one of the
winning drivers from 1988. Andy
was thrilled to be re-united with the
winning car and it performed
faultlessly over the three days,
making six runs up the notorious
Goodwood hill. Andy also had the
opportunity to take the XJ13 up the
hill which he greatly enjoyed.
Andy Wallace reunited with the winning XJR-9 together with
Gary Jones and Richard Mason from Jaguar Heritage
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The other Heritage products were
driven by a selection of lucky
journalists who had been invited as
guests by Jaguar PR; these
included Phil Weedon, Editorial
Director of Jaguar World magazine
who drove the XK120, Paul Walton, Editor of Jaguar World who drove the XJ13 (look out for
his experience in the October issue of JWM) and Richard Aucock of MSN and Motoring
Research who drove the D-type.
The Jaguar Heritage line-up in the Cathedral Paddock
was adjacent to some vehicles owned by Don Law
Racing and also JD Classics, completing a splendid
line-up of Jaguar racing cars. These included a TWR
XJS and Broadspeed XJ12 (both JD Classics cars) and
Don Law’s XJR-8/9; Justin Law thrilled the crowds with
this car by putting in several high speed runs over the
weekend, culminating with him winning the Sunday
Shootout competition with an amazing time of 45.95s
up the 1.16 mile hill, beating the awesome Peugeot 208
T16 Pikes Peak car in the process! Our congratulations
to Don and Justin for another great result and also for
entertaining the crowds with the famous XJ220 Transit
van!
Paul Walton of Jaguar World getting
ready for his run in the XJ13
A rare sight; JH’s Le Mans winning XJR-9 alongside the
sister XJR-8/9 of Don Law Racing
JH Trustee, Stuart Dyble in the short
nose D-type waiting to go!
For further information, reports and pictures, visit the
Goodwood website by clicking here.
F-TYPE Ride & Drive – July 16:
Hot on the heels of the Goodwood festival, the JLR PR team arranged a special event to
give some of the Club representatives and specialist media the opportunity to experience the
new F-TYPE. They also kindly invited some of the Jaguar Heritage Trustees and
management team to take part.
Writer and journalist Paul Skilleter together with
Roger Kemp from the JDC
The Hampton Manor hotel was used once again
as the venue for this event and, to set the
scene, a couple of historic cars from the
Heritage Collection were lined up alongside the
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array of new F-TYPE models. The ‘oldies’ included the 1953 XK120 OOF 748 and 1961
Series 1 E-type 77 RW which were joined by another Series 1 E-type belonging to Gaynor
Cauter (affectionately known as BOO based on its registration). All variants of the new FTYPE (V6, V6S and V8S) were available for the invited guests to put through their paces
and there was a presentation during the lunch break where Al Whelan from Jaguar Design
and Pete Bingham from the Programme Team talked about the design and engineering of
the new car.
Claridge’s Photoshoot – July 22:
Continuing its hectic summer schedule, the next event
where the famous Series 1 E-type 77 RW (one of the
original Geneva launch cars from 1961) made an
appearance was at a special photoshoot outside the
prestigious Claridge’s hotel in London. The marketing
team at Claridge’s, led by General Manager Thomas
Kochs (known to many through the recent TV series), is
developing some new marketing material and wanted
some shots of an iconic British car outside an iconic British
institution! Look out for these images in future promotional
material about Claridge’s, but in the meanwhile you can
have a sneak preview here.
CarFest North – August 2-4:
The first big event of this month for the Heritage team was
CarFest North, brainchild of TV personality and DJ Chris
Evans who first staged these events last year. There are two
festivals, one in the South of England at Jody Scheckter’s
farm estate, and the other in the North at Oulton Park.
CarFest is a family friendly festival of cars, music and food, with 25% of the ticket money and
other contributions going to support Children in Need. The target for the two events this year
is to raise over £1.5 million.
Although Jaguar Heritage was not able to support either of last year’s events, it was
something that the team wanted to do because it is a charitable event. The timing for
CarFest South this year clashed with the Coventry Festival and so CarFest North was added
to the events calendar at the start of the season.
As the Heritage technicians like a challenge, it was decided to try and roll-out an amazing
line-up of five V12-engined race cars to take part in the Track Sprint! Three of these were
cars that have made appearances at other recent events – the unique 1966 XJ13, the 1974
Group 44 E-type and the 1983 TWR XJS European Touring Car Championship winner.
However, the other two cars were making their maiden dynamic outing since their acquisition
by the Trust; these were the 1976 Broadspeed XJ12 Coupe and the 1983 Group 44 XJR-5.
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As reported in prior newsletters, the XJR-5 has undergone an extensive re-build under the
skilled guidance of senior technician, Richard Mason and as a reward for all his hard work,
Richard was chosen to drive the car at Oulton Park! The Broadspeed XJ12 has also needed
quite a lot of restoration work and a new set of wheels and tyres, but looked splendid with its
refreshed paintwork. Jaguar Heritage’s other technician, Dave Withers, was entrusted with
this car for the demo drives. Completing the home team of drivers were JH volunteers Gary
Jones who drove the XJ13 and Geoff Smith who drove the Group 44 E-type. Fortunately,
the five Heritage cars were allocated to different batches (all the cars at Carfest run in
batches of 7 because of Chris Evans’ Magnificent Seven line-up of Ferraris), which gave
Richard Mason the chance to drive the TWR XJS as well as the XJR-5.
All the Heritage cars ran
well over the three days
although the Broadspeed
XJ12 was suffering from
some fuelling issues (later
traced to a breakdown of
the foam in the fuel tank)
and eventually had to be
retired from the last run
on the Sunday. Despite this, the cars created a great spectacle and were much admired by
the crowds when they were allowed into the paddock area. The Broadspeed XJ12 also got
the award for being the loudest car at the event apart from the dragsters! The Merchandise
unit was also taken along
to add to the Jaguar
Heritage presence and
did a brisk trade in
umbrellas when a rain
shower passed over on
the Sunday afternoon!
The Jaguar Heritage team
with the XJ13 and XJR-5 –
from left, Eric Baptiste, Dave
Withers, Geoff Smith, Richard
Mason, Dave Palmer, Tony
Duckhouse and Gary Jones
Video cameras were fitted to the XJR-5 to capture the moment of its first outing in nearly 30
years; it is hoped to publish some clips from this and a lap in the XJ13 on the Jaguar
Heritage YouTube channel in the near future (where there are many other archive clips).
Jaguar Drivers Club National Day – August 4:
Despite the team being heavily committed at CarFest, Jaguar Heritage was able to support
the JDC National Day at Horwood House near Milton Keynes on August 4. Sister company
Jaguar Classic Parts was also present at this event and its merchandise unit provided the
focal point for the Heritage vehicle line-up.
A total of six cars were brought for the display,
including the 1932 SS1 Coupé ‘Helmet
Wing’(formerly owned by an Italian princess and
never registered in the UK), a 1965 S-type 3.4
litre (the original S-type model celebrating its 50th
anniversary this year), the recently acquired 1966
Jaguar 420 and the familiar duo of the bright
green XKR from the James Bond film ‘Die
Another Day’ and the Union Jack ‘Austin Powers’
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XK8. Topping out the line-up was the first production example of the new Jaguar F-TYPE,
chassis number 00001, which had been presented to Jaguar Heritage three days earlier in
the special ceremony at the Coventry Transport Museum (see lead story).
Some of the cars from the Jaguar Heritage collection
on display including the 1932 SS1 Coupé
JLR CEO Dr Ralf Speth (left) and Lord
Steele (right) – photo courtesy of Roger Kemp
In addition to the Jaguar Heritage vehicles, there were many other fine Jaguars on display
covering all eras from the thirties through to the present day. Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Dr
Ralf Speth also visited the show and was invited to present some of the prizes to the class
winners along with Lord Steele (former leader of the Liberal party).
Nürburgring Old Timer Grand Prix – August 9-11:
Hardly had anyone had time to draw breath before two members of the team were off again
– this time to Germany to support the biggest classic car race meeting of the season at the
famous Nürburgring. The Old Timer Grand Prix has been a key event in the Jaguar
Deutschland calendar for many years and this year was no exception.
The Jaguar hospitality area was bigger and
better than ever and featured a stunning
display of the latest Jaguar products including
the only fully finished C-X75 prototype. Also
on display were three cars from the Heritage
Collection – all reinforcing Jaguar’s long
association with motorsport.
These included two cars from 1953, C-type
MDU 289 and XK120 OOF 748 both of
which took part in this year’s Mille Miglia
(see May newsletter), together with the 1954
D-type prototype which paved the way for
Jaguar’s 1955 Le Mans victory. Completing
the heritage line-up was Jaguar
Deutschland’s fine Series 1 E-type OTS.
The event also had a strong showing from the
Jaguar Heritage Racing team which celebrated
a double win with Alex Buncombe successfully
campaigning both a C-type and E-type on the
Grand Prix circuit. Saturday’s Gentleman
Drivers Race, featuring period GT race cars
built before 1965, saw Alex beat off stiff
competition in a very close 50-minute
race. Alex was driving JD Classics race-proven
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1961 E-type, registration 1196 WK which won several of the E-type Challenge races last
season.
Jaguar Heritage Racing’s second victory of the
weekend came on Sunday in the Two Seater
GT race (1960/1961 with Le Mans start), which
Alex won in a C-type once owned by Formula
One legend Juan Manuel Fangio. The Jaguar
Heritage Racing team also entered a Mark 2,
which raced on the Friday in the AvD Historic
Marathon on the Nordschleife, finishing third in
class after 210 minutes of racing. This car had
a three driver team which included Andy
Wallace – somewhat surprisingly making his
race debut on the tortuous 12.8 mile circuit and
also his first drive of a Mark 2!
The Jaguar Heritage Racing Mark 2 co-driven
by Andy Wallace on the Nordschleife
Forthcoming Events:
The calendar over the next few weeks continues to look very busy! Major upcoming events
include:
Coventry Festival of Motoring – August 23-24: On our own
doorstep, this year’s event will once again be held at the
Stoneleigh Showground and will feature a wide range of cars and
attractions. Several Jaguar Heritage cars will be taking part in
the historic vehicle run on the Sunday morning and will then be
on display for the rest of the day. For further details, click here.
Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Southern Day – September 1: This
event is being held in the splendid grounds of the Littlecote House
Hotel near Hungerford. Jaguar Heritage will be sending a line-up
of five cars from the Collection for display. For further details, visit
the JEC website by clicking here.
St James’ Concours – September 5 - 7: This prestigious
event replaces the Windsor Concours and promises to bring
together sixty spectacular classic cars from around the world.
Jaguar Heritage is sending the unique XJ13 to participate.
For further details, click here.
Jaguars at the Castle – September 8: This event, which is jointly organised by the
JEC and the XJS Club, provides a great day out for all Jaguar car owners
on the Pageant Field at Warwick Castle. The entry fee also admits driver and
passengers to Warwick Castle with all its normal attractions. Jaguar Heritage will be
supporting with some cars from its Collection. For more details, click here.
Goodwood Revival – September 13 – 15: The annual
Revival meeting is one of the most popular historic race
meetings in the calendar and the only event of its kind to
be staged entirely in the nostalgic time capsule of the
1940s, 50s and 60s. Jaguar will once again have a strong presence and a full report
will appear in next month’s newsletter.
A reminder that the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon is continuing to host a number of
Jaguar themed events and activities through the summer holidays. Each three-week
section will include various activities including drop-in family craft activities, art sessions,
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Tuesday ‘Lego Technic’ activities, Jaguar guided tours, a special lecture and a changing
selection of ‘feature’ vehicles and display of archive material from Jaguar Heritage.
The theme from 19 August - 9 September is Jaguar Design and will culminate with a lecture
by Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum, on September 7. For further information or to book
tickets for this lecture, please click here.
…and finally – some sad news:
We were very sad to hear the news than John Coombs, long-time friend and associate of
Jaguar Cars, had died on Saturday, August 3 aged 92.
As the proprietor of Jaguar Dealer Coombs of Guildford, it was natural that John turned to
Jaguar products as he wound down his career as a driver in Formula 3, Formula 2 and
sports cars in the late 1950s in favour of building up his own racing team - which thrived in
saloon, GT and Formula 2 racing in the 1960s and early '70s. John had a close association
with the Jaguar factory when developing his race cars and formed long lasting friendships
with many of the senior Jaguar figures of the time including William Lyons and Chief
Engineer, Lofty England. He was instrumental in convincing Jaguar to create the lightweight
E-Type racer in order to compete more effectively with the Ferrari 250 GTO.
Formula 1 stars such as Jack
Brabham, Graham Hill and
Dan Gurney scored many
victories in Coombs' Jaguar
saloons and it was a 1964
test in the Coombs lightweight
E-Type that helped give the
young Formula 3 driver Jackie
Stewart the momentum that
took him into Formula 1 the
following year.
John Coombs pictured with Win Percy and Sir Stirling Moss at
the RAC Club in March 2012
When Ken Tyrrell moved into
Formula 1 in 1968, it was
Coombs who took over the
running of the Formula 2
team. Formula 1 stars such
as Stewart, Piers Courage,
and Jack Brabham continued
to drive for Coombs in
Formula 2 over the next few
seasons.
By the 1970s Coombs was fielding rising talent such as Patrick Depailler and Francois
Cevert, but following British Leyland’s disastrous management of Jaguar and the other
marques which Coombs of Guildford also sold, the dealership turned to BMW, after which, in
1981, Coombs married and retired to Monaco. He sold the business in 1989.
He is survived by his wife Ellie to whom we send our condolences.
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Contact Reminder:
Just a reminder that all enquiries relating to Jaguar Heritage vehicles or event support
should now be sent to [email protected] or direct to Jonathan Partridge or Neil
McPherson on +44 (0) 24 76 564420 or e-mail [email protected]
For further information on any of the items in this newsletter, please contact:
Jonathan Partridge on +44 (0) 24 76 564431 or e-mail [email protected]
Please attribute any images used to 'Jaguar Heritage' except where indicated otherwise.
© Jaguar Heritage – August 2013
The Jaguar Bloodline - August 1, 2013
Watermark: The Coronation Festival Preview – Jaguar’s C-X75 pictured outside Horse
Guards Parade together with Jaguar Heritage’s 1955 Mark V11M and the 1953 Land Rover
Royal Review vehicle
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