This year’s Summer Jaguar Festival was an unforgettable weekend of sunshine, friendship, nostalgia, and celebration as the JEC attained its forty-year anniversary. Those who attended left with incredible memories of a superb weekend and the Peter James team were present throughout the weekend!
A packed British Motor Museum
A warm welcome to Summer Jaguar Festival
It all began on Friday afternoon when Jaguars started to trickle into the car park at the Chesford Grange hotel near Kenilworth. As the guests entered, there was an air of excitement as old friends met, and people looked forward to the weekend ahead.
Chesford Grange has been a hotel since 1938 and became a popular live music venue as the swinging ‘60s rolled in. During the 1970s, it was used as a venue for many British Leyland conferences as the then boss, Michael Edwardes, grappled with the unions and set out his plans for Jaguar Rover Triumph.
Today, the hotel offers high-quality experiences, conferences and extravagant exhibitions and demonstrated its unique ability to deliver these on the Saturday evening of the event.
Dave Youngs, Partnerships Director at Peter James was interviewed by Richard West about the growth of Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Insurance and how it has grown with the support of the membership. The scheme offers tailored schemes for Jaguar owners and included covering the members for a very special experience that was to come later on during the Sunday at the show…
As guests arrived in their rooms to settle in and get comfortable after their journeys, a welcome pack greeted them – it consisted of several goodies from the event’s partners and a bespoke, limited-edition art print of the TWR XJ-S that won the European Touring Car Championship, 40 years ago.
An informal barbecue started proceedings with the JEC Events Committee Chair, Richard West welcoming guests to the venue and introducing representatives from the presenting partners.
Phil Beck and team
Out and about
As well as a unique gift and goodie bag, arrivals on Friday evening were given something else at check-in – a route guide for a road run around the local area. The route covered just over 70 miles and included several key Jaguar- related locations along the way, including Jaguar Classic at Ryton on Dunsmore; Wappenbury Hall, the former home of Sir William Lyons, and passed by Whitley Engineering Centre.
The route also took in the leafy Warwickshire lanes, the Canal Centre at Crick, and Stanford Hall and offered those driving the route several stops with local interest along the way. The tour could end at any one of three destinations: Coventry Transport Museum, Chesford Grange or The Piston Club at The Stag, just a short trip further down the A46 towards Stratford-upon-Avon.
Many attendees took the route solo or in small groups, some doing it all and others picking and choosing their own variation of the route. Some got so engrossed in the first attraction that they never made it around anything more!
After the excitement of driving Jaguars and exploring the local area, it was back to Chesford Grange for drinks before a magical gala dinner evening.
All eras of Jaguar and SS represented
An evening to remember
The room was presented in a decorative and emotive way that the Oscars would have been proud of – uplighting, TV screens, a stage, and a rolling video of memories from the past 40 years of the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club proved a stunning backdrop to a convivial and sociable atmosphere over dinner.
The ultimate stage decoration was achieved by an Eagle E-Type – the one driven by Jeremy Clarkson on BBC Top Gear, no less! Next was the street-legal, road-going version of the Jaguar C-X75 concept that Ian Callum and his team developed in the early 2010s and immortalised in the James Bond film SPECTRE.
You will remember it in a breath-taking six-minute night chase through the streets of Rome as Bond flees the SPECTRE meeting. Driven by new SPECTRE agent Hinx. The Jaguar C-X75 chased Bond in his Aston Martin DB10 through the narrow streets of Vatican City and alongside the River Tiber.
After dinner and coffee were completed, guests settled in for an evening of conversation with some engaging luminaries of the Jaguar world, whom Wayne Scott interviewed.
First up were Henry Pearman and Paul Brace, who gave those assembled a fascinating insight into the Eagle story over the past four decades and their deep passion for the E-types, both original and improved. That lifelong love of the model has enabled them to create such stunning restorations with modern engineering developments that do not dilute the original spirit of the car.
Ian Callum next to his stunning C-X75 concept car on Saturday evening
Next was the headline act—former Jaguar design Director Ian Callum CBE. Over the course of 45 minutes, Ian took the audience on a captivating journey through his early days as a trainee design student, through Ford, TWR, Aston Martin and then Jaguar.
Ian discussed his inspiration and how he came up with the design cues and ethos that shaped a generation of Jaguars. Ian dropped some exciting hints about future projects at CALLUM Design, so we look forward to hearing more.
After dinner, Ian Callum said, “The interview was fun, remembering all the steps along my career; you forget some of it because you’re so busy. Moreover, sharing the stories amongst friends was nice, so thank you for the warm welcome.”
The evening was brought to a close when one lucky couple won a very special weekend away with JEC travel provider Winged Boots, and everyone retired to the bar for some fortification for the show day ahead.
Summer Jaguar Festival show day
The day had a lot to live up to – celebrating forty years of the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club. The regular attendees expect a dynamic and busy Summer Jaguar Festival event which has got bigger and better with every passing year. It has taken place at many superb venues, this year though, it was the turn of the British Motor Museum at Gaydon.
The day included free access to the museum and the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection on site plus much more besides. The show was already basking in hot sunshine as the first of the visitors arrived and parked up in the display areas and the atmosphere was electric from the moment the gates opened.
Over the past several years, the Summer Jaguar Festival has featured a big-screen TV and live stage, once again hosted by Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine Editor Wayne Scott. There was a chance for day visitors to hear the interviews with Henry Pearman and Paul Brace from Eagle E-Types and Ian Callum CBE.
Also added to the line up, however, was Sir John Egan – the man rightly credited with saving Jaguar in the 1980s as exactly 40 years ago, he took the company into independence from British Leyland.
Moving Motor Show draws a crowd
Following Sir John was Joe Greenwell CBE, who worked at Jaguar during the Egan era but eventually rose to the top job between 2003 and 2005. These two top Jaguar personalities gave insights into how and why the manufacturer made certain decisions and what it was like to work there behind the scenes when so many of our favourite models were in production.
The Moving Motor Show returned and is always a popular part of the day as it gives the show-goers the chance to see some incredible Jaguars moving with a chance to see, hear and smell these iconic cars doing what they do best.
Peter James supported the Moving Motor Show
In the morning show, Wayne Scott was joined by the grandson of Sir William Lyons, Michael Quinn, for some extra insights into the history of the cars. Whilst the original format was intended to be a detailed interview and chat with a small selection of cars and drivers, it quickly became clear that the feature had been over-subscribed, with willing exhibitors keen to share their pride and joy with the throngs of enthusiasts lining the tarmac strip.
The originally intended show of 18 suddenly grew to 45 cars, and so the commentary team had to up the pace a little to get through all in the time allowed. All this added to the spectacle of a fantastic treat for the senses as Jaguars from all eras paraded for the fans and brought the show to life.
The afternoon session brought yet more incredible machines out, including the C-type replica of Kev Riches (Ex Jaguar Classic), a trio of Swallow Dorettis, a Swallow Gadabout Scooter, supplied by Castrol Classic, and many overseas visitors with their cars including a TWR body kitted XJ-S convertible from and the new TWR SuperCat, but more on that shortly.
Interviews on the live stage
A once in a lifetime opportunity at Summer Jaguar Festival
Gaydon was developed as an RAF bomber base and training facility during World War 2 and later played a crucial part in the Cold War. It remained under RAF control until 1978 before being sold to British Leyland. It was redeveloped as a test facility by Ford for Jaguar and Aston Martin, subsequently morphing into the Jaguar Land Rover design, development and proving ground under Tata ownership. Interestingly, the terms of ownership state that at any given time, in the event of a national emergency, the site must be returned to defence duties!
It’s the first time the vehicle test track has ever been available to members of the public, and our erstwhile sub-editor and tamed racing driver, Ray Ingman, was on hand to assist. Ray who works at the facility said – “We usually make every effort to stop anyone coming in and seeing the secret prototypes on test, but they have all been hidden away today and instead I’m driving a photographer around!”
It’s all for a good cause, though, as every member doing their three laps on the track donated £50 to NSPCC’s Childline charity for the privilege, and this will all top up the fundraising from this year’s FBHVC Drive It Day.
On the JLR Test Track
Upon hearing about this great and unique opportunity, Peter James was immediately keen to step in and ensure all ran smoothly. Dave Youngs, Partnerships Director at Peter James explains, “ We heard about this as part of one of our many update meetings with the JEC and were keen to ensure that this experience would pass worry-free for members, so we agreed to ensure all those who were our customers who took to the track for free. Members could then drive the proving ground as enthusiastically as they liked, safe in the knowledge that they and their pride and joy were protected—a great example of us working with the Club to enable activities.”
Places were limited and had to be booked well in advance. Stephen Laurae and wife Linda were able to drive around the track in their 1967 E-type Coupe, which they’ve had since 1991 and restored over a 12-year period. Stephen said, “Having an E-type was my boyhood dream from the age of six, so to have the chance to drive it around the factory test track was fantastic. It was well worth the £50 donation to a worthy cause, great fun, and it was wonderful to get up to speed on a private test track, a brilliant experience and a really good event all around.”
Stephen and Linda Laurae
Those sentiments were shared by fellow JEC member Martin Dorman, who’d come from Norfolk who agreed, saying, “I’ve had my 4.2-litre XKR since 2013 and do 2 or 3,000 miles a year which I really enjoy. It’s still in pretty good condition and has only done about 48,000 miles. This was a real treat, it’s not something you think you’ll get to do and I really enjoyed it, some lovely long bends and I used sports mode for the for the first time in a long while! It was a thrill to be on the track with other Jaguars and you get a feel for the history of the place and to think the prototypes for my car were once proved on this ground, which was a great feeling. I was the last car, with just the tail end safety car behind me and I could see all the other cars ahead which looked wonderful, a historic opportunity I’m really glad to have been part of.”
Martin Dorman
The track laps were also covered by the industry newspaper Classic Car Weekly, who couldn’t resist the opportunity to see the facility for themselves and report on this unique, one-time opportunity.
Basking in the sunshine at Summer Jaguar Festival
Back at the show, huge numbers of Jaguar enthusiasts could get up close to the anniversary displays, JDHT cars and the CALLUM design projects, including the C-X75 concept car. The retail village gave the event a real festival feel, and everyone in the family had plenty to see and do.
Gaydon events manager Tom Caren remarked on the event, “We’ve had around a thousand Jaguars and over 3,000 people here today, and it’s gone really well. It’s a super event, one of the biggest and best we’ve ever done at the museum. A fitting fortieth for the JEC!”
The Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club stand offered members a warm welcome, a vast array of merchandise, and the opportunity to get a signed copy of the book ‘Sharing the Passion’. Author Nigel Thorley autographed copies of this definitive guide to the Club’s history throughout the day.
Traders reported an enthusiastic crowd and remarked that the big screen and intimate layout made them feel a part of it throughout. Phil Beck and his team in the dedicated, branded Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Insurance tent enjoyed a steady stream of owners looking for insurance advice and quotations.
World debut of TWR Supercat
Fergus Walkinshaw (son of the late Tom) demonstrated the TWR Supercat development mule in the Moving Motor Show and had it on display within the show area throughout the day. This was the first chance that the public had truly got to see what this incredible project has created to breathe new life into the XJS.
The Restomod XJS uses a supercharged Jaguar V12, which Fergus intends will have well over 600bhp and, whilst there is much work still to be done, the cacophony of sound and fury it produced when blasting away on the Moving Motor Show nearly left commentator Wayne Scott with permanent hearing damage – but bodes well for its performance.
TWR is now taking orders – if you have around £225,000 and feel the need for the ultimate road-burning XJS made by a Walkinshaw.
TWR Supercat Test Mule
Final reflections on Summer Jaguar Festival
The Club’s current chairman, Mike Horlor, officially opened the show on Sunday morning and explained just how far the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club had come in those 40 years. He remarked, “In those days, an event of this magnitude would have been unthinkable, and it is a testament to the hard work of the staff and volunteers that has brought us here, but in particular, it has been the passion of the members that have gotten us to this point. The Club will continue to progress and grow, just like our favourite car manufacturer has over that time.”
General Manager, James Blackwell who, alongside Club Manager Rhian Parker and Events Assistant Jake Harvey worked their socks off, not just over the weekend but over the months preceding the event as well, took the opportunity to say thank you, “On behalf of the JEC, I want to extend our sincere thanks to the volunteers, including those heroes from the Central West Midlands and Shropshire Regions who did an amazing job behind the scenes. There are too many to mention for fear of missing someone, but the help you provided for us at the Summer Jaguar Festival was what made the event possible. From helping us on Friday welcoming people to the hotel, to gathering the troops to marshal on the day, to pulling everything down, you and your time were critical to helping put on a show that was enjoyed by Jaguar fans and public alike. Thank you.”
Congratulations to all members of the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club, who turned up in their droves to celebrate the anniversary in fine style – here’s to the next forty years!
