50 YEARS OF JAGUAR XJ: HISTORIC CONVOY HEADS TO PARIS MOTOR SHOW

50 YEARS OF JAGUAR XJ: HISTORIC CONVOY HEADS TO PARIS MOTOR SHOW

• Eight generations of XJ will drive from Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich Assembly Plant to the Paris Motor Show, to celebrate 50 years of the luxury saloon
• The XJ had its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in 1968
• The celebratory fleet includes every generation of XJ, including latest XJ50
• The unique convoy will visit important locations such as Jaguar Classic, a facility that is dedicated to preserving and restoring motoring heritage
• The convoy will also visit Goodwood motor circuit and Le Mans, locations that have played an important part in the history of Jaguar and the XJ
• Watch the Jaguar XJ evolve from the 1968 Series I to the XJ50 here: https://bit.ly/2CF0Bnn

 A unique convoy representing the past and present of the Jaguar XJ will journey from the Jaguar Castle Bromwich plant in the UK to the Paris Motor Show to celebrate 50 years of the flagship luxury saloon.

The line-up will feature all eight generations of XJ produced since 1968. The special collection will be led by the car that started it all, the Series I, and finish with the most recent XJ50 special edition, which was revealed earlier this year. The convoy will also include significant models such as the Series II Coupé and X350 XJR.

Starting at Castle Bromwich, where the luxury saloon is produced, the 839km (521-mile) drive will take in a series of important locations, including Jaguar Classic, Bicester Heritage Centre and the Goodwood and Le Mans race circuits, which have played a significant role in the life of Jaguar and the XJ. Journey’s end for the convoy is the Paris Motor Show, where the Jaguar XJ Series I made its debut in 1968.

Ian Callum, Jaguar Director of Design, said “The Jaguar XJ story is one of design, desirability and performance and over the past 50 years it has become a true giant in the automotive world and it’s only right that we pay homage to it in this special way. When I started at Jaguar, the XJ was already an icon of car design, so to have been part of this story that has been told over half a century has been an absolute privilege.” 

The cars taking part in this one-off journey:

• Jaguar XJ Series I: 1968
• Jaguar XJ Series II: 1973
• Jaguar XJ Series II Coupé: 1973
• Jaguar XJ Series III: 1979
• Jaguar XJ XJ40: 1986
• Jaguar XJ X300: 1994
• Jaguar XJ X308: 1997
• Jaguar XJ X350: 2003
• Jaguar XJ X351: 2009
• Jaguar XJR575: 2017
• Jaguar XJ XJ50: 2018

Paris has a special significance to the Jaguar XJ. In 1968 the XJ made its debut at the show, with Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons revealing his vision for a saloon car with the handling of an E-type. The luxury model was a revelation with its compelling combination of beauty, poise and performance. Since then, the presentation halls of Paris have played a regular role in the life of the XJ – the XJ ‘X300’ was unveiled at the event in 1994 and the revolutionary XJ ‘X350’, with its lightweight aluminium monocoque, made its debut there in 2002.

Returning to the Paris Motor Show 50 years after its first appearance on the show stand caps a series of celebrations for one of the world’s great saloon cars, which has been the choice of business leaders, celebrities, politicians and royalty for five decades.

The celebrations began with the introduction of the XJ50 earlier in 2018. The special edition model includes Autobiography-style front and rear bumpers, purposeful new 20-inch Venom wheels, black front grille and unique badging to the rear and side vents. Inside, the luxury cabin features an embossed leaper on the headrests, an XJ50 logo on the centre armrest, unique intaglio branding and XJ50-badged illuminated treadplates.

For more information on the XJ, visit www.jaguar.co.uk

Source: Jaguar UK

DVLA PERSONALISED REGISTRATIONS’ GAVEL IS POISED TO FALL AS ITS AUTUMN AUCTION HEADS TO THE NORTH WEST

CLASSIC TORQUE

FROM CLASSIC CHATTER

DVLA PERSONALISED REGISTRATIONS’ GAVEL IS POISED TO FALL AS ITS AUTUMN AUCTION HEADS TO THE NORTH WEST

DVLA Personalised Registrations is bringing its live autumn auction featuring 1,250 personalised registrations to the North West in what will be the Agency’s first visit to Wigan.

The three-day event gets underway on Wednesday, September 19, and will be held at the prestigious Kilhey Court Hotel featuring, as always, a broad blend of personalised registrations to suit all tastes and budgets with reserves starting from £250.

Fans of the phenomenally successful Rocky boxing films can pay homage to their hero with the inclusion of RO11 CKY which has been tagged with a £400 reserve. While successful bidders are always celebrated, the registration OUT 81D (reserve £250) will be pertinent to those who are not and is typical of the many fun-related registrations included in the sale. Others include DR18 BLE (£700), OGO 555H (£250) and C444 MEO(£250).

As ever, there’s a whole host of personalised registrations related to popular names including ELL 5A (£350), made popular by the hugely successful Frozen movie, HER 811E (£250), GR11 ANT (£400) and ST17 EVE (£400).

There’s a large breadth of personalised registrations that directly correlate to sports cars including 992 RS (£2,200) which would perfectly sit on a Porsche 992 RS, 488 PET(£1,200) that would be ideal for a Ferrari 488 and LAM 880B (£250) is aimed at Lamborghini owners.

Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Senior Sales Manager, said: “Our auctions always attract customers from all over the UK, as we have rarely visited the North West and never encamped in Wigan before we thought it was long overdue that we did. The Kilhey Court Hotel is prestigious and is perfect for our needs. We have unearthed a varied array of personalised registrations to suit all tastes and, hopefully, budgets that will surely make the three-day event as exciting as ever.”

Just some of the 1,250 personalised registrations included in the forthcoming sale include:

1993 A (reserve £2,500), AAM 12R (£300), ARC 441E (£250), A80 YLE (£250), 9999 BC(£2,000), BEE 805S (£250), BET 805S (£250), BOO 111N (£250), CA17 TER (£400), 11 CEM (£1,200), COO 11K (£300), COS 774A (£250), CU11 RLY (£400), DAR 551E (£250), DEX 11S (£300), DUT 7Y (£350), D111 PSY (£250), EAR 3L (£350), ELL 5A (£350), ERR 11N (£300), FAT 11A (£300), 2 FFS (£1,200), GAB 1G (£500), GR11 ANT (£400), GR15 ACE (£400), G111 BBB (£250), H442 VEY (£250), JA15 SON  (£400), JAD 2E (£350), 1988 JC (£1,500), JOV 9N (£350), KAR 7T (£350), KAS 11H (£300), 8000 KS (£2,000), K117 TTY(£250), LAM 880B (£250), LEA 9H (£350), 650 LT (£2,200), MAC 11T (£300), MCL 750S(£250), 1874 MR (£1,500), MY11 CAR (£400), NAT 5Y (£350), NXS 1 (£2,400), 29 O(£2,500), OFF 11T (£300), 111 ORD (£1,200), OTT 115S (£250), OW10 ZAT (£400), PER 551A (£250), POS 71T (£300), RAG 11N (£300), RAJ 10W (£300), 1 RUC (£2,400), SAJ 71A (£300), SCR 14P (£300), 18 SKY (£1,200), ST17 EVE (£400), SUS 511E (£250), 15 TAJ(£1,200), 5000 TH (£2,000), THE 911C (£250), TRA 441N (£250), T993 POR (£250), 13 UDY (£300), 25 US (£2,200), 225 V (£2,500), WA17 TED (£700), W41 FFF (£250), 123 X(£2,500), 8 XAG (£400), YES 114N (£250), YUP 111E (£250), Y35 NOO (£250).

Millions of other personalised registrations can also be viewed at DVLA’s Personalised Registrations Official website, www.dvlaregistrations.direct.gov.uk