A PRIDE OF JAGUAR IN RICHMOND

At Jaguar, we really embrace our heritage, so it was important for me to be a part of this year’s Jaguar Clubs of North America Challenge Championship in Richmond, Virginia, writes Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director.

It’s the key annual gathering of all the Jaguar enthusiast clubs in America. Five days of enjoying classic Jaguar cars on the road, the track and concours field. I was the guest speaker at the awards dinner and was able to present one of the top honors of the night; the ‘Best Design’ award.

Everyone I spoke to ‑ and I spoke to a lot of really passionate owners ‑ I tried to pass on the message that Jaguar, today, is one company with one story. The core values we put into our cars now ‑ design, performance, agility and glamour ‑ are the same as they were 50 years ago when Sir William Lyons was running the company.

We really want the enthusiasts who own our classics, like the members of the Jaguar Clubs of North America (JCNA), to become our brand ambassadors. We want someone who maybe owns an E‑Type to consider driving a new F‑TYPE; someone who loves their classic XJ to consider driving a new XF or XJ. Anyone with an XK120 or XK140 should look closely at our latest XK models.

To encourage this, we took along a line‑up of our latest performance models to Richmond. Two supercharged V6 F‑TYPE cars, an XKR‑S GT, an XFR‑S, as well as the XF and a long‑wheelbase XJ. As you’d expect, we gave non‑stop hot laps in the F‑TYPE cars during the slalom part of the event at Richmond International Raceway.

The response to the F‑TYPE was remarkable. People kept telling me how great it was for Jaguar to be back to building a pure two‑seat roadster; a car that looked so great, performed so well, and sounded so sensational. I know a few orders were taken by the local dealers during the weekend.

One of my duties was to present an award for the ‘Best Design’ of the show. It was the first time the award had been given and we created this very beautiful glass trophy especially for it. My single objective was to pick a car that simply looked great.

It was a tough decision, especially with all the E‑Type models that were there, along with some of my favorite Jaguar cars, like the gorgeous XJC Coupe, and extremely rare XJR‑15, a car that I’d worked on in a former life. In the end, it was hard not to recognize Dr. David North’s 1936 Saoutchik‑bodied SS100 roadster. This was truly a wonderful car.

I find American classic car events like this to be very different from similar European ones. Americans seem to be a little less precious about originality; they’re happy to modify their E‑Type models to make them drive better, or look the way they want them.

I have to say that I find that very appealing. I recently bought a 1961 Mk2 Jaguar sedan that I’m having completely rebuilt to my specification. The details are secret for the time being, but as a hint of what I’m doing, there’s a big 4.2‑liter engine going under the bonnet.

Certainly throughout the Jaguar organization these days, our passion for our heritage is becoming much stronger and very genuine. That enthusiasm is coming right from the top, from our CEO, Dr. Ralf Speth, who incidentally owns a rather beautiful Series 1 E‑Type Roadster.

Thank you to everyone at JCNA for inviting me, and for putting on such a terrific event.

To see a video from the 2013 JCNA Challenge Championship, click here or to learn more about JCNA visit, www.jcna.com.