It’s not an E Type, they said. It’s not very economical, they said. It’ll never last, they said.

Well, 50 years and four days since its launch on 10 September 1975, some eighty-odd examples of the Jaguar XJ-S (or XJS), turned out in all their pristine glory to thumb their noses at those who would disparage those buttresses, or that thirsty V12 engine.

There were early “Pre HE” examples, Lister conversions, TWR and XJR-S versions, Six Cylinder and V12 versions, not to mention one that is a mobile disco! (Does anyone else write that while singing D-I-S-C-O by Ottowan?) and of course a Monaco.

Then, courtesy of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust we were blessed with the Win Percy, Tom Walkinshaw Group A ETCC winning XJ-S from 1984, and the Group 44 Trans Am version from 1976.

There was a Lister XJ-SC with significant history.

And another XJ-SC with its own story.

Of course there were stories to tell and people to meet. Where better than surrounded by those gracefully loooong bonnets?

There was a stand for the Jaguar Drivers Club which had an array of goodies for sale. And speaking of sales, I found a replacement ski slope for my XJR-S on the https://www.xclusivelyjaguar.org/ stand. It was good to meet Letitia and Rob.

Upon arrival we were handed a David Manners “flyer” with a numbered ticket attached. After a quick wander across to the ladies on the RH Specialist Vehicle Insurance stand, I came away with a XJS 50th Anniversary mug.

The sheer pleasure of the attendees and their lovingly cared for, and driven, Jaguars complimented the relaxed atmosphere of the historical castle grounds. Here’s to another 50 years.

Oh and that Monaco.

And finally thank you to the Warwick Castle team and the people in Costa Coffee who kept me going throughout the day.

Acknowledgements:

For further information about the various models of XJ-S see https://www.xjsclub.org/

The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust is based at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon.

See https://www.jaguarheritage.com/

The Jaguar Drivers Club can be found here: https://www.jaguardriver.co.uk/

Warwick Castle is open to the public, for details see https://www.warwick-castle.com/

The RH Specialist Vehicle Insurance team who supported the event see https://www.rhspecialistinsurance.co.uk/

All images by Peter Mallett

And finally thank you to the XJS Club team, without whom so many events and gatherings would not happen.

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