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£25k challenge XKR 5.0 or F-TYPE 3.0 S?

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S-TYPE Why the facelifted model remains a great buy WORKSHOP:

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Daimler Double-Six Only 20k miles and once owned by a Jaguar chairman

TWIN TEST

Talent show Four-seat V8 grand tourer or two-seat V6 sports car – if you have £25,000 to spend on a car, both are an option. But, which is better? We pitch a late XKR 5.0 against an early F-TYPE 3.0 S to find out

ANY HAVE had to face a difficult choice over the last few years, and I’m not talking The X-Factor or The Voice. No, I mean the tough decision between the XKR 5.0 and F-TYPE 3.0 S. Both fast, good looking and agile, either would be more enjoyable to own than a Saturday night spent watching a TV talent show.

Initially, because the XKR had been around for longer, its lower used values were the deciding factor for some. But not any more. Now that XKRs and early F-TYPE 3.0s are around £25,000, that choice has become harder.

And so, like watching back-to-back talent shows, I’m comparing one of each to try to decide which one of these incredible cars you should choose.

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W O R D S & P H O T O G R A P H Y P A U L W A LT O N

If looks were the sole barometer when deciding on a favourite, it would be an almost impossible choice. Both cars feature the same crisp, taut and clean design synonymous with Jaguars from the last decade: they are handsome, modern and contemporary. But, just by looking at them, it’s obvious they have different characters. The XKR is a Long Island Tea – refined and smooth, but still with the ability to get you into trouble if consumed too quickly. The F-TYPE, sitting slightly lower with a more aggressive stance, is a shot of tequila – smaller, but packing a punch.

This gorgeous Kyantite Blue XKR is a post-2009 facelift example. The refresh didn’t change much other than the Xenon headlights, LED rear lights and a reprofiled and more aggressive front bumper, framed either side by some natty outboard grilles, all of which helped to keep the already good-looking car contemporary.

Jaguar’s then design director, Ian Callum, said at the time of the car’s reveal, “The current XK was the first car to signify a new generation of Jaguars – cars that have honed our image every bit as successfully as the original XK 120 or E-type. Now, the new XK range reinforces that message. The car’s visual agility and beautiful lines have been enhanced with a distinctive new front end, rear lights and revised body styling that gives every model even more presence.”

The update also saw the introduction of Jaguar’s 5.0-litre V8, which, in supercharged XKR form, produced 503bhp (510PS) – 83bhp more than the outgoing 4.2-litre model. The result was an increase in power, a higher speed and an even bigger character.

As Autocar magazine put it in February 2009, “The new supercharged V8 has transformed what was an extremely good GT into an excellent one. And an extremely fast one.”

It wasn’t wrong. The 4.6 seconds it took to reach 60mph made it Jaguar’s fastest production car at the time, being 0.2 seconds faster than Road & Track magazine’s test of an XJ220 in 1993.

And yet the F-TYPE S, even with the smaller 380PS 3.0-litre V6 (a 340PS version was also available at the time of the car’s 2013 launch), has an almost identical performance figure to the XKR, thanks in part to being 140kg lighter.

I guess that’s called progress.

Jeremy Clarkson said of the F-TYPE 380PS in the Sunday Times, 23 June 2014, “It has more than enough power to make your armpits smell and a proper mechanical differential that works jolly well. Really jolly well. This is a car that delivers the sort of fun that makes you burst out laughing.”

Yet in many ways the car still represents a gentle nod to the past – it is, after all, Jaguar’s first two-seat sports car since the demise of the E-type in 1975. But

TWIN TEST XKR 5.0 vs F-TYPE S 3.0

the F-TYPE’s concept is old-fashioned, and played heavily on its ancestry – for example, the rear LED lenses have circular graphics similar to the E-type’s back lights.

There can be no denying it’s a handsome car, and a car with real presence, but some parts are just starting to look a little bit clichéd, and presumably that’s why it was facelifted earlier this year.

The XK, on the other hand, remains fresh and contemporary – not something that can be said about its interior. Ever since its 2006 launch, the XK has always featured too

many cheap materials. The mid-life refresh improved that slightly, but some of the plastics of this 2011 model still bring me out in sores. Take the steering wheel-mounted paddles for example; they look and feel like melted Mars Bar wrappers. Compare it to the beautifully crafted interiors of the Porsche 911 or Mercedes-Benz SL of the same era and Jaguar had real audacity to charge £75k for a car with an interior that better belonged in a cheap saloon.

It also lacks the sportiness of the F-TYPE interior, which features classic twin-cowled

dials. On the plus side, it looks clean and simple. The 7in touchscreen (that controls the ventilation and infotainment systems) that dominates the XK’s central console is much improved over the XK8’s messy and complicated design. The modern look is supported by the rotary gear selector, which was also part of the car’s refresh, as were steering wheel-mounted paddles to control the gearbox, a first for a production Jaguar.

There’s still plenty of cheap plastic in the F-TYPE but it’s not as prominent, and in general, the interior looks and feels

TWIN TEST XKR 5.0 vs F-TYPE S 3.0 better quality. The F-TYPE’s ventilation system is also easier to use on the go, being controlled by three large and easy-to-find dials, rather than the XKR’s touchscreen that requires you to take your eyes away from the road too many times.

The only issue I have with the F-TYPE’s interior design (other than space) is the air vents that rise smoothly out of the dash.

Jaguar’s designers wanted a low, sporty cabin height, and the vents make for a messy compromise. Although there’s been no reports of the motors failing (yet), I can imagine they, like the pop-out exterior door handles, will be expensive to put right if they do.

However, the F-TYPE’s biggest Achilles’ heel has always been interior room. The kindest way to describe the cockpit is snug; in reality, it’s just tight. I’m not particularly tall – a compact 5ft 10in – but even I need to have the seat as far back as it’ll go. Plus, despite the grab handle to the left of the fascia (which helps to distinguish the driver

and passenger compartments that Jaguar laughingly calls a ‘1+1’ configuration), you still sit uncomfortably close. I once drove an F-TYPE 2.0 to Turin accompanied by my father [see JW, June 2018, p44], and for 1,000 miles I kept brushing my hand against his knee. Which was awkward.

In comparison, the XKR’s rear seats

might be too tight for anyone other than Snow White’s friends, but the longer cockpit does mean it’s not as claustrophobic as the F-TYPE’s.

At 207 litres, the boot of this convertible is 106 litres smaller than the XKR’s, and its shallowness is less practical than flip-flops on a building site.

The XKR’s V8 roars into life the moment I touch the starter button, when the resulting bark is loud and deep enough to scare all wildlife within a ten-mile radius. If you’ve wondered what strapping yourself to a missile might feel like, take an XKR 5.0 for a spin. The big engine is as quick to respond to my request for power as the Saturn V moon rocket when it left the Earth’s atmosphere and acceleration is brutally relentless, riding on the crest of a massive wave of power.

Yet for all the engine’s size, its power delivery is smooth, linear and effortless.

The six-speed automatic transmission is slower than the F-TYPE’s eight-speed unit, but is still strong enough to handle the V8 without feeling as if it might explode like one of Wile E. Coyote’s rockets in his futile attempt to catch the Road Runner.

The steering is sharp and quick, more so when the car’s in Dynamic mode, which stiffens it. With good weight

distribution and being very taut – the XKR convertible is 40 percent stiffer than the previous model – I’m able to attack corners as hard as if I were driving a sports car half its size, the visceral excitement augmented by the deep, melodic soundtrack coming from the front.

Yet the car has a softer side because this generation of XK was always more of a GT than a pure sports car.

Although the 5.0-litre is harder both in terms of its performance and image than the earlier 4.2 examples, the ride is still reasonably supple. Changes in the road surface are barely felt and it is more cosseting and comforting (even at the limit) than the F-TYPE. I guess it’s obvious that I’m a big fan of the XKR. Having driven many examples over the years, I like the combination of speed, comfort and good looks. The F-TYPE is going to have to do something pretty special to stand a chance of dethroning it.

TWIN TEST XKR 5.0 vs F-TYPE S 3.0

It does so the moment I squeeze the throttle. The 380PS V6 was always my favourite engine in the F-TYPE’s range and it’s a shame that it has been deleted in favour of a new 450PS (444bhp) version of the 5.0litre V8. However, it might have two cylinders less but its acceleration is just as brutal as the XKR’s, the response from the supercharger being true and immediate. The V6 isn’t a high-revving unit (as, say, the Porsche’s flatsix), but there’s still plenty of character at lower revs, plus, with the S’s active exhaust bypass valves in their ‘noisy’ position, there are real fireworks on the overrun.

The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox operated by Jaguar’s tall sports shifter. A six-speed manual was briefly available between 2015 and 2018 but is best avoided, being notchy and awkward. Besides, the steering wheelmounted paddles offer as much control as a manual transmission. While it’s a traditional automatic and not a modern dual-clutch unit such as the Audi’s S-Tronic system with its seamless changes (and that despite the F-TYPE debuting as recently as 2013), the shifts are still fast, and much smoother than the XKR’s clunky eight-speed unit.

It also boasts more stability through corners than the older car, a result of the F-TYPE being a foot shorter, very wide, and having a shell that’s 30 per cent stiffer than the XK’s. Plus, all F-TYPEs have electric

steering as standard. Sharp, incisive and accurate, it allows me to scythe cleanly through bends, while the car remains perfectly balanced. There is no hint of oversteer. But, drive too hard with the traction control turned off, and trouble will only be a misjudged corner away.

As mentioned, the F-TYPE is wide for a two-seat sports car. At 2,042mm it’s almost identical to the XKR, but then it does use the same chassis, albeit shortened. The upshot is that blasting though narrow roads

can sometimes feel like threading the eye of a needle with washing line.

The ride isn’t as supple as the XKR’s, either – while it glides over table-topsmooth surfaces, the rough stuff is distinctly felt through the steering wheel and in the cabin.

But I like the F-TYPE, the true successor to the E-type. With its speed, handling and looks, it’s a worthy addition to Jaguar’s long history of sports cars. But is it enough to put it ahead of the XKR?

Both of these are tremendous cars, and have characters as large as their performances, so it isn’t easy to pick a winner. I can’t choose on cost either with both worth around £25k – although early XKRs can drop to as little as £20,000 and later F-TYPEs can top thirty grand.

But, decision time. If you were to put a gun to my head or, worse still, make me watch a TV talent show, I’d put the XKR on top for a number of reasons.

The older car, being 330mm longer than the F-TYPE, has better proportions, its supple ride is easier to live with,

2011 XKR 5.0 Engine 5,000cc s/c V8 Power 510PS (503bhp) Torque 510lb ft 0-60mph 4.6secs Max speed 155mph Transmission 6-spd auto Price new £75,500 Value now £20,000-£30,000

and, as much as I love the 3.0-litre V6, there’s no denying the blue-blooded, old-fashioned grunt of the 5.0 V8.

Plus, I know from past experiences that the F-TYPE’s lack of interior space becomes wearisome after a while.

That might not seem important at first, but try packing more than one pair of shoes for a two-week holiday, or finding a place in the cabin for your mid-journey snacks, and it will. PW Thanks to: Owners Richard King (XKR) and Gavin Marsh (F-TYPE)

2014 F-TYPE S 3.0 Engine 2,995cc s/c V6 Power 380PS (375bhp) Torque 330lb ft 0-60mph 4.8secs Max speed 171mph Transmission 8-spd auto Price new £67,500 Value now £23,000-£33,000

OWNER’S STORY

PRESENT COMPANY

ICK IS not your typical carcompany boss,� said Bruce Blythe, a Ford executive who was involved in negotiating the original deal to buy Jaguar, about Sir Nick Scheele. Understated, unpretentious, but a consummate professional, Scheele might have been a Ford man through

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and through, but he proved to be a breath of fresh air for Jaguar after his appointment as chairman in 1992.

Along with the introduction of several new and important models, an improvement in quality, and sweeping reforms to cut costs, he did more than anyone to safeguard the company reaching the millennium.

In 1997, Jaguar’s then chairman bought a late Daimler Double-Six Series 3 for his wife, Ros. We head to Sir Nick Scheele’s family home where his long-serving chauffeur introduces us to the special low-mileage car he continued to maintain for the family after Sir Nick’s death W O R D S & P H O T O G R A P H Y P A U L W A LT O N

Sir Nick's chauffeur, Michael Jones, with the Scheele's former Daimler

OWNER’S STORY DAIMLER DOUBLE-SIX Scheele was also a proper car enthusiast.

When he gave his wife, Ros, a Jaguar for her birthday in 1997 he had Jaguar’s range at his disposal, yet he didn’t buy an XK8 or an XJ6 but a Daimler Double-Six Series 3.

Dated when still in production, never mind several years after, but its understated style, old-fashioned luxury and refinement shows he was a connoisseur of good cars.

Born in Brentwood, Essex, Scheele started his long career at Ford in 1966, initially in the UK’s purchasing, supply and procurement department. He moved to the United States in 1978, still with Ford, and after rising through the ranks became president of the company’s Mexico operations ten years later.

Scheele returned to the UK in 1992 when he was appointed Jaguar’s vice-chairman, going on to hold the positions of chairman and chief executive before the year was out. He remained at Jaguar for seven years, during which time sales doubled due to the introduction of new and competitive models, and the company regained its place as one of the world’s top marques. Success brought with it a promotion to CEO of Ford of Europe in 2000, before he once more crossed the Atlantic in 2001 – the same year he was knighted – to become Ford’s president and chief operating officer.

Scheele came back to the UK after he retired in 2005 and was actively involved in many charity, business and community projects. He continued to be a supporter of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT) and it was at the closure of the Browns Lane museum in 2012 where I met him. Friendly, warm and approachable, after only five

minutes it was clear he was still passionate about the brand. Sadly, Sir Nick Scheele passed away two years later, aged just 70.

Although by the late Nineties a Daimler Double-Six Series 3 would have been an old-fashioned present for Scheele to give his wife, it wasn’t a completely left-field choice because she already had experience of these beautiful cars. As the chairman’s wife, Ros was also eligible for a company car and in 1992 she chose an XJ12 Series 3. But there was a problem. From 1991, the Series 3 was produced in the Daimler specification only, and – incredibly – the brand wasn’t available to Scheele’s level on the company car list. So he simply requested that the second-to-last example, registered K529 DDU, be built as a Jaguar Sovereign. Ros drove the car for a couple of years until it was returned to Browns Lane with 6,000 miles on the clock, to be handed over to the JDHT along with the last car produced. (K529 DDU has since been sold and is now in private hands.)

Ros always said that the car was one of her favourites, which is why Scheele bought one for her birthday in 1997.

With the big day fast approaching, Scheele asked Tony O’Keeffe, who at that time was the curator of the JDHT (having begun his career at Jaguar in 1979 with stints on the Browns Lane assembly line) if he could help him to locate a suitable car. He discovered a perfect example – a 1991 Daimler in Tungsten Grey for sale by one of TWR’s Jaguar dealerships in Oxford. Showing just 9,000 miles, it was in immaculate condition.

Coincidently, when the car was registered on the 29 October 1991, the first owner was

Jaguar itself. Because the board of directors were driving the more modern XJ40 at the time, Tony believes the grey Double-Six was probably used as a press car. As with Ros’ former Sovereign, once the Daimler had covered 6,000 miles it was then sold through Jaguar’s dealer network and, in the autumn of 1992, Jaguar dealer Guy Salmon placed an advertisement for its sale in The Times.

The Daimler was snapped up by Fred Stone, who then kept the car in a heated garage.

Although he would often take it on holiday, his twin boys in the rear, he didn’t use the Daimler sufficiently to warrant keeping it – in five years he’d covered just 3,000 miles and, in 1997, he decided to sell.

Sir Nick gave the car to his wife a few days after her birthday during the opening of (and here’s another coincidence) a new Guy Salmon Jaguar dealership outside Coventry.

After the ribbon had been cut, Sir and Lady Scheele were looking around the showroom when Ros pointed to the Daimler saying it was like the one she used to have. At this point Sir Nick finally revealed it was hers.

The pair are said to have loved the car.

When I see it parked outside the Scheele family home – a large, beautiful house not far from Coventry bought when the family moved back to the UK in the early Nineties – it’s easy to understand why. With its perfect proportions and understated

OWNER’S STORY DAIMLER DOUBLE-SIX

ABOVE: The twin boys of the Daimler’s second owner, Fred Stone, with the car in the mid-Nineties OPPOSITE PAGE: Sir Nick Scheele, Jaguar’s chairman between 1992 and 1999, at the 1993 Geneva Motor Show

OWNER’S STORY DAIMLER DOUBLE-SIX

A Daimler Double-Six Series 3 would have been an old-fashioned present for Scheele to give his wife elegance, not only does the Series 3 remain a high point in Jaguar’s design, the condition of this example remains immaculate, still with only 20,000 miles on the clock. The Tungsten Grey paint looks like polished steel while the chrome and Kent alloys are unmarked.

I’m met at the house by Tony O’Keeffe and Sir Nick’s long-serving chauffeur, Michael Jones, who opens the gate to let me in. Because Lady Scheele spends much of her time in the States, Michael still helps the family to look after the house. He started driving for Sir Nick not long after the Ford man was appointed as Jaguar’s chairman and stayed with him after he retired. “I looked after Sir Nick all the way through,” he tells me. “We had an agreement; when he retired he wanted me to stay with him and continue to look

after the family.” With the Nineties being a pivotal moment in Jaguar’s history, Michael was privy to some fascinating conversions but, ever the professional, he’s too discreet to divulge. All he says is, “I think myself lucky I was in on the ground floor during lots of exciting projects.”

Although Scheele had other cars at his disposal – including the one-off Special Vehicle Operations-built stretched X300 limousine that we featured in the November 2015 issue (p76) – Michael would occasionally drive the Scheeles to private functions in Ros’ Daimler. I can imagine the old car still turned plenty of heads when it glided serenely up to the door.

The car was rarely used after Sir Nick passed away, but Michael kept it and the others in the Scheele collection – including an SS 100 and XK8 – maintained, serviced

and on the road. Michael tells me he often encouraged Ros to use the Double-Six more, but by then she preferred her modern Ford.

When she asked Michael to sell the classic cars, it wasn’t difficult for him to find a new home for the Daimler.

Knowing its history and that it was in perfect condition, Tony (who now works for Jaguar Land Rover Classic) couldn’t resist. “When Michael told me that Ros would like to sell the car in November 2016 I was very excited to be given the opportunity to buy it myself.” Now affectionately called ‘The Duchess’

by Tony’s wife, it’s as immaculately presented now as when owned by the Scheeles. Still only used for special occasions, I’m honoured when he asks me if I’d like a drive.

Unsurprisingly, the walnut veneer and light grey leather upholstery are as pristine as the exterior. What a contrast Scheele must have found the Daimler’s traditional, handcrafted interior to those more-modern Jaguars with their increased use of plastic mouldings that came during his tenure as chairman. I wonder if he ever wished Jaguar’s cars were still built in that way or whether he considered the change an inevitable result of progress.

The big V12 slowly churns into life before settling down to its familiar quiet and rhythmic hum. Jaguar’s V12 saloons were never about performance and the huge engine delivers its power in a slow, refined and predicable manner. But don’t go thinking it’s slow; with 285bhp, the big car can accelerate surprisingly hard when required, although it makes me feel as uncomfortable as forcing an elderly racehorse compete in one last race.

Where the Series 3 always excelled was its ride and Tony’s Double-Six is a perfect example of this, effortlessly turning even the roughest road surface into a smooth crème brûlée. Admittedly, the steering lacks the sharpness of later models and the three-speed automatic gearbox has all the responsiveness of Ryanair’s complaint line, but when I sit in the rear to experience being chauffeured by Michael – the car’s refined nature suiting his smooth driving style – I again understand why

Sir Nick chose to be driven in this car.

Safely cocooned by the warm wood and soft leather, as I watch the outside pass by through the picture frame-sized rear windows I can’t help but think the old Daimler remains a perfect example of discreet luxury and ultimate refinement, a combination few cars possess.

This Daimler Double-Six certainly isn’t your typical luxury saloon, just as Sir Nick Scheele wasn’t your typical car boss. PW Thanks to: Tony O’Keeffe and Michael Jones

Over the top DRIVE STORY

The idea was simple: drive one of Jaguar’s prettiest sports cars, an E-type Series 2 open two-seater, across the top of one of the UK’s prettiest locations, the Yorkshire Moors.

The result is a special and unforgettable journey

W O R D S & P H O T O G R A P H Y P A U L W A LT O N

ITH THE throttle as perfectly balanced as the steering, I exit the corner quickly and cleanly ready for the long straight that follows. The road ahead of me is as empty as the view and, as I floor the throttle, the 4.2-litre engine delivers its power in one raspy, snarling lump; I soon become a green blur against the purple bracken that blankets the moor.

It’s the long straights and fast, swooping corners such as these, together with its isolation, that makes the A169 one of the UK’s best driving roads. The 21-mile section that snakes over the top of the Yorkshire Moors between Pickering and Whitby is especially exciting. And how better to explore one of the UK’s best roads than in one of Jaguar’s best sports cars, an E-type Series 2 open two-seater?

TOP: Pickering marks the start of Paul’s journey in the E-type BELOW: Navigating the A169’s tight Monaco-like hairpin BOTTOM: The top of Snod Moor, with the strange, alien shape of RAF Fylingdales in the distance

The Series 2 is often overlooked in preference for the original and arguably purer Series 1, mainly due to the open headlights and ungainly ‘trailer board’ rear light clusters, but no one cares about such trivialities when I arrive in the centre of Pickering. “Nice car, mate,” says one passer-by. I sheepishly admit to it not being mine, quickly adding (before he calls the police) that I’ve just borrowed it from the Classic & Sportscar Centre down the road in Malton.

He’s right though. It is a nice car. Willow Green isn’t a common colour (a factory option between 1968 and 1972) and suits it well, highlighting the E-type’s voluptuous lines better than the darker, more traditional BRG. Registered in November 1968, a month after the Series 2 debuted at the British Motor Show, this car is a very early example. And because it was originally restored way back in 1979, it has a delightful patina. Cosmetically, it’s not perfect, despite the more recent work, but it’s all the better for that. Together, the minor marks and imperfections say this is a car to be driven and enjoyed, not displayed.

And that’s exactly what I intend to do.

As I slip behind the aftermarket – and beautiful – wood-rimmed Moto-Lita steering wheel, I am greeted by the sea of black vinyl and thick rocker switches that replaced the turned aluminium fascia and delicate

flicker switches of the very early models. It remains stylish, though – but, like a mod suit, social revolution or Beatlemania, it’s very much of its time.

The engine churns into life the moment I twist the key in the steering columnmounted ignition (sadly, the central console-positioned starter button was lost as part of the Series 1½ update in late 1967/early 1968). I leave Pickering’s pretty market square, the familiar twin-cam roar of the XK engine ricocheting off the buildings, and join the A169.

The 21-mile road goes back to the 18th century when three Acts of Parliament for the building of a turnpike (or toll road) between Whitby and Pickering were granted in 1784, 1785 and 1827. Incredibly, the road wasn’t tarred over until the Thirties, being laid with limestone until then. But, of course, back then the traffic would have been an occasional stagecoach, a farmer’s horse and cart, or perhaps a herd of sheep wanting a day out at the seaside.

With 6,500 vehicles a year travelling it today, it’s now table top smooth and perfect for a Sixties sports car. The first section cuts through lush and fertile Yorkshire countryside, where the fields are currently full of crops waiting for harvest.

A couple of miles down the road, where the A169 enters the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, it starts to climb, clearing the trees to give tremendous views over the

moors. I look out to the Hole of Horcum, a spectacular amphitheatre 120m deep and a kilometre wide. Local legend has it that the hole was made by a mythological giant called Wade, who picked up a clod of earth and threw it at his wife, making both the hole and nearby Blakey Topping, where it landed. I wonder what Mrs Wade did in retaliation? Since Wade has a strong association with the sea (his boat is mentioned in Chaucer’s The Merchant’s Tale), I hope it was to hide his towel.

An even better view than of the moors, though, is the one through the screen and down the E-type’s famously long and curvaceous bonnet. As evocative as the exhaust note, it’s easy to understand why the E-type continues to fascinate us almost 60 years after the model’s debut. As one of the few cars (the original Mini being another) that are a part of British society and culture, everyone who saw the car during my trip knew exactly what it was.

My revere is broken by a series of corners, a long left-hander followed by a tight right. With the road also dipping quickly, they’re the Yorkshire equivalent of two of the most famous corners in the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, Grand Hotel Hairpin and Mirabeau Bas. There might be more trucks and a lot less glamour here, but this car makes the bends just as exciting. And despite the sharpness of the turn, the E-type slices through the corners

with ease, the standard rack-and-pinion steering remaining surprisingly quick and precise for a 52-year-old sports car.

The Moors dominate the view out of the screen – much like the horizon from a plane – and I accelerate hard for a following straight, filling all of North Yorkshire with that raspy exhaust note. Combining the 265bhp from the 4.2-litre straight-six and the car’s minuscule 1,260kg weight (177kg less than a Series 3), performance is strong and punchy, the XK unit always eager to deliver its power. Acceleration is further aided by quick and accurate changes – the Series 2 has an all-synchromesh four-speed ‘box. The gears snick into place with the certainty of a key twisting in a well-oiled padlock. Yet, because of the E-type’s iconic status and high values, it’s easy to overlook that the car is a proper, full-blooded sports car; take away its mythical status and that’s exactly what it is.

The road starts to ascend once again, meandering back and forth up to the top of Snod Hill, where, in the distance, is an enormous flat-headed pyramid, its eeriness heightened by a whisper of early morning mist. It looks a bit like an alien spacecraft (although I’m not sure why they would land here, miles from civilisation, or even a decent coffee), but this is actually the building – a radar base – housing RAF Fylingdales.

Originally the radar station consisted of three 130ft spheres built in 1962/3 (universally nicknamed ‘Golfballs’) they were

DRIVE STORY E-TYPE SERIES 2 replaced in the early Nineties by the current 120ft building. RAF Fylingdales’ objective is to alert UK and US governments of an impending ballistic missile attack (the so-called four-minute warning during the Cold War), plus detect and track orbiting objects. I cross my fingers it doesn’t track the speed of green E-types on the nearby A169 at the same time.

After negotiating another tight corner, the road immediately climbs again, up a delightfully fast, sweeping curve followed by another fast, long straight that gives tremendous views over Goathland, home to the popular TV series Heartbeat, set in the Sixties about a village bobby.

Fantasizing that I’m in an episode about a bank robber being chased by a Ford Anglia police car, I drop down a gear and gun the

engine. The car picks up speed as cleanly and easily as a car a third of its age; if I was being chased by the Rozzers, I’d have left them behind long ago.

As I roar across the Yorkshire countryside, I can’t help but wonder why the Series 2 isn’t as universally loved as the Series 1. Admittedly, the front and rear lights (changed to meet American legislation about bumper and headlight height) significantly impact the car’s looks, but the E-type’s unique aura, character and myth remain intact. It’s as good to drive as any Series 1, while improved cooling, better three-pot Girling brakes and more comfortable seats make the model easier to live with.

Yet, at £90,000, this Willow Green Series 2 is significantly cheaper than the several

Series 1s that Classic & Sportscar Centre also have for sale.

Just as the surprisingly blue North Sea becomes visible over the Moors, the road starts to descend more quickly than it climbed. The Blue Bank is a steep, one-infive (20 percent) gradient that’s famed for its accidents, the most famous being on 21 July 1929, when the brakes of a bus failed and it careered off the road at the bottom of the bank. At the point of the crash, the bus wrecked several beehives and the rescue effort was hampered by hundreds of angry insects.

At the bottom of Blue Bank, where the road starts to flatten, is the village of Sleights, the name coming from the Old Norse for sletta, meaning flat land. The Norsemen might have conquered huge

I can’t help but wonder why the Series 2 isn’t as universally loved as the Series 1

DRIVE STORY E-TYPE SERIES 2

Journey’s end, overlooking Whitby’s harbour and the ruined abbey in the distance

swathes of Europe, but they clearly weren’t very imaginative.

The junction with the A171, after I cross the River Esk, marks the end of the A169.

It’s also where the first German bomber, a Heinkel He 111, was shot down onto British soil during World War Two, crashing to earth on 3 February 1940. To mark the location, a decade later two stone columns from a nearby bridge that was washed away during the flooding of July 1930 were positioned either side of the A171/A169 roundabout.

I manage to join the A171 in one piece and begin the final drive into Whitby, the beautiful harbour town famous for being the place British explorer James Cook started his career as an apprentice in 1747. The town’s other claim to fame is more macabre, being the location of Dracula’s arrival into England in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel of the same name. Disguised as a large dog, he bounded up the 199 steps to the 11th century abbey that sits on a cliff overlooking Whitby. Still, I doubt he received as much attention as I do in the E-type.

The popular seaside town is bustling with tourists on this sunny August afternoon, and the green car gets even more admiring glances than it did in Pickering.

“Nice car, mate.”

“So I’ve heard.”

After successfully navigating the busy roads – aided by the car’s light steering and

notably sharp, but progressive, brakes – my journey ends overlooking Whitby’s pretty harbour, and the ruins of the abbey.

The drive from Pickering has been a little over 20 miles, a blink of an eye in an F-TYPE, but the E-type has transformed it into a much bigger and more memorable adventure than in any modern car thanks to its aural and visceral excitement.

The Series 2 might always be overshadowed by the Series 1, but, thanks

to its speed, handling, looks and comfort, I couldn’t think of a better car to take over the top. PW Thanks to: Classic & Sportscar Centre in Malton, North Yorkshire, for the use of the beautiful E-type featured here. See this car and many others at www.classicandsportscar.ltd.uk or call 01944 758000

HISTORY

Eighth wonder W O R D S & P H O T O G R A P H Y P A U L W A LT O N

The eighth XJ-S off the production line was given to Jaguar’s Experimental Department where it was driven by Ed Abbott and used to further develop fuel injection plus an upgraded V12. Sold under the counter, it spent 30 years in Sweden before Ed saw it for sale and bought it. We trace the remarkable history of this fabulous car

O

N THE face of it this is just another early XJ-S, little different from the other 15,525 pre-HE examples produced between 1975 and 1981. But look closely, and you’ll notice that this is a very special car; the car’s chassis number makes this the eighth production example. If the XJ-S’ 21-year production run were a book, this car is the foreword.

Having recently returned to the UK after three decades in Sweden, and now owned by one of its original test drivers, we look into its history and how it survived.

HISTORY EIGHTH XJ-S Chassis 2W1008BW was manufactured in January 1975, nine months before the model’s launch in September. It had been allocated to Jaguar’s Experimental Department from the outset, where it was given the code XJ27/LC2. Since the car was going to be used internally, halfway through painting the colour changed from its original silver to Primrose Yellow, using remaining stocks of this unpopular colour.

Once in Experimental, it was often driven by a young Ed Abbott.

Abbott had joined Jaguar as an apprentice in 1970, aged just 16. After spending time in the Vehicle Safety Department, located at Daimler’s former plant at Radford, he then joined Norman Dewis’ team of development drivers at the Experimental Department in 1973.

Incredibly, the XJ-S was a long way from being finished, even though only two years remained before it was due to be launched.

There were three main reasons for this.

Firstly, the lack of manpower and facilities. Says Ed, “There was only Norman – who, by then, was constantly tied-up in meetings – three test drivers, and a small workshop with clapped-out ramps. To get anything done you needed to ask favours around Jaguar.”

Secondly, there were plenty of other projects in development, including the XJ Series 2, the XJ coupe and adding Lucas’ fuel injection to the V12.

Finally, there was a feeling that the car didn’t need that much development because the XJ-S was heavily based on the XJ saloon, and used many tried-and-tested parts. “Other than a bit of ride and brake testing, there wasn’t an awful lot of XJ-S work going on,” Ed reveals.

The car in the mid-Eighties, registered NDA 904P, with its larger wheels and sportier wing mirrors

It wasn’t until mid-1974, when Experimental took delivery of a handful of preproduction cars (followed in early 1975 by the first production examples, including 2W1008BW) that work really started to be ramped up. Despite his age, Ed was responsible for much of it. “I was young and keen, and for some reason Norman trusted me.”

Between 1975 and 1977, 2W1008BW was used to develop Lucas’ D-Jetronic fuel injection system, an area of the XJ-S’ development that up until then had been largely overlooked. “The first running prototypes in 1973 were on carburettors because the fuel injection wasn’t sorted,” says Ed. “Until then, all the fuel injection development work had been with an XJ12

There’s more to do, but it handles and goes well and I plan on just using it

Jaguar’s bodyshop trialled rubbing strips in the late Seventies, so they remain on the car

Series 1 because it had more room in the back for equipment.”

In 1977, 2W1008BW was fitted with the short-lived and little-known 10:1 compression version of the V12 and Lucas’ new P System digital fuel injection. “The original 5.3 V12 engine was originally designed to have 10:1 compression, plus fuel injection by Brico Engineering Ltd,” explains Ed. “Brico, though, pulled out of developing the system at the last minute. So, for the E-type Series 3, Jaguar put on four Stromberg carburettors. But the emissions were poor so the compression had to be reduced to 9:1, which killed the power.”

By 1975, and with fuel injection fitted to the XJ-S, Jaguar’s engineers realised the

compression could be increased for a tad more power. “The Primrose car was fitted with the first hand-built 10:1 compression V12, plus Lucas’ new digital fuel injection with a revised ECU.” This saw an increase in power from the 285bhp of early examples to 300bhp. Although rare, the 10:1 compression cars are today considered to be the best of the pre-HE models.

For the majority of the time, the car was used by both Jaguar and Lucas engineers on trade plates so it wasn’t until September 1975 that it and five other examples received Coventry LDU registrations and were made available to the British press.

It’s not known if the Primrose Yellow car – registered LDU 887P – ever featured in

a magazine, but LDU 867P was used by Motor Sport and LDU 870P was tested by both Motor and Autosport.

A hard life – coupled with an indifferent finish – meant all of Jaguar’s experimental cars were eventually supposed to go to a scrapyard in Kenilworth to be crushed.

Says Ed, “If a thermocouple was needed, for example, we’d simply drill a hole in the bulkhead, never bothering with rubber grommets. Seat covers were unheard of, so, with the mechanics’ overalls being covered in oil, the seats would get quite mucky.”

By 1980, the 10:1 project was over, replaced by the High Efficiency V12; 2W1008BW was sent to the breaker’s yard, its work finished.

HISTORY EIGHTH XJ-S After leaving Jaguar in 1985, Ed turned his back on the company and its products completely. Together with his brother, Lionel, he formed the very successful Abbott Racing Motorsport Team; over 15 years, it won several British Saloon Car Championships with Saab UK. Because he had already started to use his experience with the marque to design performance upgrades for Saabs, when racing stopped it was only natural for him to continue, becoming one of the world’s leading specialists in the Swedish brand. He still is.

Ed’s interest in Jaguar was reignited in the early 2010s when he bought a Mk 2 and a Mk V, rallying the latter. In 2015, they were joined by a 1980 XJ-S, which Ed uses to compete in events all over Europe [see January 2017, p62]. When he saw what was advertised by its Swedish owner on an XJ-S Facebook page as the eighth production example, it piqued his interest. He was initially sceptical it could be such an early car, but that soon changed when he received a picture of the engine bay and saw a pair of non-standard cold-air intakes.

“The XJ-S had to match the E-type V12 when it was tested by magazines otherwise it wouldn’t be considered as good. So, one of the cheats we used was to put cold-air intake trumpets onto the press cars – which would produce about five percent more power – to improve their performance.

After the journalists had thrashed the cars up and down MIRA for the performance

BELOW LEFT: Handpainted oil requirements on the filler cap BELOW RIGHT: The coldair trumpets added five percent more power for testing by journalists

figures, under the pretence of a coffee we’d say to them, ‘Why not come back to Browns Lane – we’ll refuel the cars and make sure everything is okay’. Behind the scenes, we’d quickly take off the cold-air intakes and put on some blanking plates ready for the journalists to take the cars away for a couple of weeks.”

Convinced of its authenticity, when the Swedish owner shipped the car to the UK

ready to be sold via auction, Ed snapped it up. Not only did the chassis number definitely make it the eighth car, but when Ed put it on a ramp in his workshop, the axle and gearbox still had thermocouples for measuring temperature. All of this meant it was definitely one of the first production cars, not that Ed has a strong recollection of it. “I’d have driven it, but I don’t remember it,” he says.

HISTORY EIGHTH XJ-S

Ed reckons the reason the XJ-S survived was down to the Kenilworth breaker’s yard doing dodgy deals with local dealers, illegally selling Jaguar’s experimental cars, including 2W1008BW. It was immediately resprayed in the more popular Signal Red and sold to an owner in Solihull, before moving to Tunbridge Wells four years later.

Around this time, the car received the larger alloy wheels that were de rigueur of the time, plus a pair of sportier – but inappropriate – wing mirrors. In 1989, a Swedish engineer working in the North of England oil industry bought the car and took it back to Sweden with him, where it was registered PAM 902.

According to Ed, the car has never been restored although it was off the road for several years while in Sweden. So, other than replacing a noisy water pump, a leaking oil cooler, and the tired front shock absorbers, along with tweaking the front camber, putting on a new set of Avon tyres and recharging the air conditioning, Ed hasn’t done a great deal to the car. “There’s more to do, but it handles and goes well and I plan on just using it.” He has also secured the original LDU 887P registration.

When I visit Ed’s Essex-based workshop in September 2020, it’s clear that the red car isn’t an immaculate example, but the

The mess of wires in the boot for the ECU

imperfections give it a larger and more memorable character. I ask if he plans to return it to its original Primrose, but Ed says, “The red is part of the car’s story, plus to repaint it properly you’d have to take the whole car apart; I’d rather make it mechanically sound instead.”

Thankfully, it’s back on Kent alloys, but there are still two holes in the passenger side door where the now-removed aftermarket wing mirror once was. It also has some wide and ungainly black rubber strips along its flanks, fitted as a trial by Jaguar in the late Seventies. “I can distinctly remember being asked by some chaps from body design if they could put rubbing strips on one of Experimental’s XJ-Ss, plus a saloon. Next thing I know, they’re on a couple of cars, which I thought looked rubbish. Even when the car was painted red

those mouldings were left on.”

The interior is standard early XJ-S, with every surface covered in black vinyl. But then, I open the bootlid. In the corner is a mass of unruly wires, and an ECU wedged into the side aperture rather than mounted behind the right-hand trim panel as per the production models. Although it’s a mess, Ed says this is exactly how it would have looked when the car was still with Experimental, so won’t be changed.

Ed is hoping to buy the fourth production car soon while number three lives in Sweden, but with both requiring major restoration it suggests number eight is the earliest production right hand drive XJ-S on the road in the UK – and Ed kindly offers me a drive. The 10:1 compression V12 feels stronger than the earlier 285bhp models, the acceleration a fraction harder.

Ed’s experience in Jaguar’s Experimental Department is obvious by how it handles; with sharp, accurate steering, plus perfectly damped suspension, it is one of the nicest and quickest early XJ-Ss I’ve driven.

It might be in the detail that makes Ed’s XJ-S special, but it’s everything else that makes the car fabulous. PW Thanks to: Ed Abbott (www.abbottjaguar.co.uk)

Fit for a

KING W O R D S & P H O T O G R A P H Y P A U L W A LT O N

This 1997 XK8 4.0 convertible was first owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Now back in the UK, its royal heritage has resulted in a very low-mileage, immaculate example

MODERN DRIVE LOW-MILEAGE XK8 N THE April 2017 issue, when I said of a 14,000mile XK8, “If you own an example that’s covered fewer miles, we’d love to know,” I never thought there would be one. But I was wrong. Not only has Paul Valentine’s 1997 convertible covered a mere 10k miles, but it also has connections with the Brunei royal family.

That and its perfect condition make it a unique and fascinating example.

Not long after the XK8 went on sale in late 1996, the Sultan of Brunei ordered 50 identical convertibles. All were painted in Titanium Grey with Charcoal leather and Grey Maple veneer, a unique and handsome specification.

The Sultan gave away the cars as presents to guests at a lavish event he hosted. This included his younger brother Prince Jefri Bolkiah (the country’s finance minister), who received the 50th. My own brother is lucky if I send him a birthday card, but that’s the difference between mere mortals and billionaires.

Jefri’s car – chassis number SAJJGAFD3AR010299, a right-hand-drive example built for the Singapore market – left the Browns Lane production line on 17 February 1997 and was exported

I

to Brunei, via Jaguar’s New Zealand importer, a few days later.

The grey car joined the Brunei royal family’s extensive collection of more than 5,000 cars, which includes hundreds of Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches and Rolls-Royces, many of them with bespoke, one-off bodywork. As well as several XJ220s (including at least one that was redesigned

by Pininfarina), the brothers had a penchant for the X100, supposedly owning more than 50 XK8s. A picture of the Sultan’s extensive garage, taken around this time, shows two long rows of immaculate examples.

Unsurprisingly, with so many other cars to choose from, the Titanium Grey XK8 convertible was barely used. It was not registered in Brunei until May 2005, and in eight years it covered a mere 122km (76 miles).

Not long after Jefri was gifted the car, he was investigated by the Brunei Government for fraud and was found guilty of embezzling $14.8 billion. Although he denied the charges, in 2000, the prince agreed to turn over his personal holdings to the Government to avoid criminal prosecution.

His assets – which included 2,000 cars – were eventually sold to repay the debt.

On 15 June 2005, Guy Priestley, chief executive officer of HSBC Brunei, bought

the grey XK8 convertible for $70,350.

Lack of use had had a negative impact on the car, and Priestley needed to have the hydraulic roof oil replaced and discover why the engine was surging.

Priestley also initially used the Jaguar sparingly. He returned to the UK in early 2007, the XK8 arriving later the same year, when he had the car’s original km/h speedo changed to mph by Jaguar main dealer HA Fox of Cheltenham. The odometer had read just 707km (439 miles) before it was reset to zero during the change. The car was finally registered in the UK in October 2007.

Priestley kept the XK8 until 2014. It was advertised for sale through an Oxfordshire dealer for £16,500, with still only 8,096 miles on the clock. Its immaculate condition and links to the Brunei royal family caught the attention of former police officer Paul Valentine. Before he retired in 2000, he’d been part of the Metropolitan Police’s royalty and specialist protection unit and had occasionally worked with members of the Brunei royal family when they visited the UK.

“After driving the saloons for work, I’d always wanted a Jaguar,” Paul tells me, “and I was especially attracted to this one because it was a former royal car.” Although Paul paid a little less than the asking price, it was still big money at a time when XK8s could be picked up for less than £3k. “I looked at what it was, and what it represented, and I thought it was worth it. Plus, the car definitely had investment potential.”

Cosmetically, the car has needed nothing, but, because it has an original and untouched XK8 4.0-litre, Paul has had all the model’s notorious weak spots sorted – replacing the timing chain tensioners, thermostat housing, water pump and belts.

“Even if someone offered me more money than it’s worth, it’s not going anywhere,” Paul asserts. “What am I going to replace it with? In my budget, the car is as good as it’s going to get for me.”

And from where I’m standing, that’s not a bad thing: firstly, the dark exterior and dark interior combination is unusual and results in a handsome, head-turning car; secondly, from top to bottom the XK8 is perfect – the 17in Flute alloys appear brand new, while the black canvas roof is remarkably uncreased and unfaded. The paint is immaculate with barely a mark anywhere, including the nose, which is prone to stone chips, while the front lights aren’t suffering from another typical X100 problem, condensation in the headlights.

Inside, the Charcoal upholstery shows little sign of wear, the maple veneer as shiny as one of the Sultan of Brunei’s many gold Rolls-Royces, while the switchgear still has the oily appearance of new plastic. It is, quite simply, the closest you’ll get to a new X100 XK8 without inventing a time machine.

I check the odometer, which currently reads 9,916 miles. If you include the miles the car covered in Brunei before the speedo was changed, it brings the mileage to 10,355; a yearly average of just 450. I did more than that walking from the sofa to the fridge during lockdown. It also means the car has covered more miles at sea during its transportation to and from Brunei than it has on the road. I would say it’s doubtful there’s an XK8 with even less mileage, but I’ve been wrong before…

The only change Paul made has been to remove the back boxes of the exhaust

Thanks to: The car’s owner, Paul Valentine

system, leaving the V8 with a deeper, more melodic growl than standard. But, even at full throttle, it’s not obtrusive and still matches the XK8’s discreet image.

I first drove an XK8 way back in 1998, a red coupe that belonged to the publisher I worked for. I remember being struck by the smoothness of its power delivery and the suppleness of the suspension. Now, 22 years later, Paul’s grey convertible reminds me so much of that red car, especially as it doesn’t have my own 2000 XK8’s feeling of wanting to break down. When I squeeze the throttle, the five-speed gearbox changes down and the engine responds instantly with a sudden burst of acceleration. The steering is tight and accurate and, despite Paul telling me the car still sits on the original suspension bushes, it rides perfectly.

Prince Jefri had thousands of more exotic cars at his disposal, but he missed

Credit: George SW

MODERN DRIVE LOW-MILEAGE XK8

This image of the Sultan’s garage, taken in the late Nineties, shows two long rows of Jaguar XK8s

out by not driving this beautiful XK8.

Yet it’s fortunate that he did, because his lack of interest has resulted in one of the cleanest and best presented examples of an early X100 convertible. It might have left the Brunei royal family, but it remains fit for a king. PW