Automotive trivial pursuit

[JohnK]

1961 Jaguar XK-E OTS

"When the E-Type Jaguar was shown at Geneva in 1961, it was even more of a revelation than the XK-120. It was unbelievably low and sleek and was capable of 150 mph. Under that lovely skin was 265 horsepower 3.8 liter twin-cam six, fully independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes. What's more, the top went down. This car is a very early example - the 195th left-hand drive roadster built. It was discovered in a barn in ... in 1977 was it was 25 years before the restoration was completed."

[JohnK]

I say, we need one in British Racing Green, don't we ?

[JohnK]

And just a few for fun.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by JohnK

I say, we need one in British Racing Green, don't we ?

Absolutely! Thanks for joining in.

[PHC1]

After a rather long hiatus, Jaguar went back to racing. Participating in IMSA and WSC with the help of Tom Walkinshaw Racing which eventually took over the team and the effort.

1985-1992 XJR series racing cars from XJR-5 to XJR-17. V12 going the way of V6 NA and turbo as well as V8.

[PHC1]

1992 brought the Jaguar XJ220 to compete in group B and against the likes of Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959.

Although it was never meant to be a road car, the interest and demand was so great that Jaguar decided to build a road legal car. Modifications included a twin turbo V6 instead of a V12, 2w drive instead of 4w drive. There was quite a fiasco associated with the XJ220...

Some customers were dissatisfied with the increase in delivery price from the original £361,000 to £460,000 as a result of index-linking of their contracts. Another blow was the global recession which took hold between the car's announcement and its eventual release. This caused some 75 speculators to attempt to back out of their commitments, either because they were no longer able to afford them, or because they did not think they could sell the car on for a profit. Further complicating the issue was Tom Walkinshaw's offer of the XJR-15 which was based on the Le Mans winning XJR-9. Some customers either sued Jaguar or threatened to sue; in any case, Jaguar gave customers the option to buy themselves out of the delivery contract. Nonetheless, some buyers challenged Jaguar in court, although presiding Judge Lord Donaldson ruled in Jaguar's favour.

The road going XJ220 was the fastest top speed car for a bit of time until the McLaren F1 took that title away in 1994.

The racing version, the XJ220C went on to win the BRDC National Sports GT Challenge at Silverstone and the Le Mans 24 hours beating out Porsche in that particular class. Unfortunately it was disqualified some time later for lack of catalytic converters. No one else was running them either but it was in the rules and Jaguar never lodged their appeal in time like everyone else did.

[Masterlu]

Some really good automotive trivia Serge!

[PHC1]

The 1996 through 2007 era brought the XK8 and XKR. No more V12s, it was V8 and V8 supercharged. XK8 was available in either coupe or convertible versions.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Some really good automotive trivia Serge!

I thought it would be fun. Perhaps others can join in as we do other/their favorite brands.

[PHC1]

I think we jumped ahead too far. It is time to dive back into history and pull up some of the really beautiful Jaguar designs of the days gone by... So many modern cars are simply too "predictable", "practical" and it almost seems the automotive designers are afraid to express their creativity...


The Jaguar Mark V.












The Mark VII





1937 SS 2.5L






1952 XK120 Supersonic





1954 XK120 Zagato Coupe







1959 Mark IX






1938 SS100






1960 E2A






1958 XK150 S Bertone