JAGUAR XK SERIES DIAMOND JUBILEE MEETING AUGUST 8TH-10TH 2008

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Jaguar XK owners and enthusiast from all corners of the globe descended on England's Goodwood racing circuit to celebrate sixty years of this iconic model, the result being whichever way you looked all you could see was a sea of Jaguars. All the European countries were very well represented but in addition contingents from Australia and the USA had shipped their cars over to join the gathering.

When the first XK 120 was launched at the 1948 London Motor Show it caused a sensation, this 130 mph sports tourer had the looks and pace of a truly great sports car but at a much more affordable price than its main rivals Ferrari, Maserati or Aston Martin. Consequently it wasn't long before the XK was in great demand with Jaguar shipping cars all over the world and founding a marque that would carry on for the next thirteen years. The XK's brilliance was not just skin deep as its engine went on to power Jaguar's next sports car the E type and in race trim it enabled the company to win Le Mans with both their C type and D type racers.

Diamond celebrations kicked off with an eleven day XK tour that started in the Yorkshire Dales routing through the Cotswolds and Welsh hills ending at Goodwood on the 8th of August where the participating cars were joined by hundreds of other XKs for two days at the circuit. Every manifestation of the marque was in attendance from the first XK120 chassis numbers 02/03/04 through to the last production E types as well as all the racing variants, not all were in immaculate condition which made the experience even more interesting, as on wandering through the ranks of cars some were obviously very original and well used, while others had been restored to a brilliance that far outshone any finish that the Jaguar factory cold have achieved.

Organisers, the XK Club GB, had not only managed to fill Goodwood with original cars but spread their wings to encompass the replica market, so if your budget did not run to an original C type, worth a fortune, it was possible to eye up a more affordable Twenty First Century incarnation. Goodwood's famous circuit was open both days with XKs of all types and vintage circulating on demo runs or giving rides to spectators, there was a very nice touch to all this as in order to qualify for a ride the passenger was required to donate a minimum of £10 to the ‘Children in Need’ charity. Unfortunately the most desirable ride of all was reserved for competition winners-3 laps of the circuit with Sir Stirling Moss in a C type- Stirling's exploits at Goodwood in that car are legendary and if this had been a ‘paid for’ trip I'm sure the queue would have stretched around the entire track, and I would defiantly have been in it!

For those who had come with money to spend auctioneers Bonhams were tempting them with an all Jaguar sale on Saturday afternoon, auction items ranged from immaculate XK 120s, a very interesting E type painted with an Egyptian theme, to a couple of rusty restoration projects complete with the dust and cobwebs just as they were found. The estimated price on these two unloved examples looked very affordable, that is until you took a deep breath and thought about the hours of work and searching for parts that would be needed to bring them back to life.

The XK and its racing variants would not have been the success they were without constant development and one person that was responsible for a great deal of this was Jaguar's chief development and test engineer Norman Dewis. Norman was in attendance the whole weekend recounting fascinating stories about his time at Jaguar as well as lapping the circuit in the D type that he had helped to hone into a Le Mans winning car. Norman was also a member of the Jaguar racing squad and achieved a record speed for a D type at the 1955 Le Mans race reaching 192.4 mph on the Mulsanne straight, he had also raced at Goodwood in the 1950's so was quite at home over the weekend both with the venue and his beloved cars.

With XK clinics, Q&A sessions, the display of Ecurie Ecosse cars, a Diamond Ball on Saturday evening and a concours event at the nearby Cowdray Park on Sunday it was a most fitting birthday calibration for this great car. Rumour has it that one person was trying to photograph and document every XK there; they had their work cut out as the organisers were expecting 600 plus cars. It's unlikely that the two auction restoration cars were completed by the next day to enter the concours but there's fifteen years to go before the 75th gathering, they might just make that!