Have You Seen Any Interesting Cars On The Road Lately?

[BTB 500]

Glorious ! Is it still in the family? (That looks like a recent photo)

Sadly not! It went to the motor museum at Gaydon but then popped up for sale at a dealer a few years back which is where I grabbed the pictures from. Checking the 'tax' status today it's still on the road.

My grandfather kept it in concours condition but drove it like a nutter! He worked for the BBC and had various contacts at Jaguar ... it was reputed to have been built with a 'special' engine.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Sadly not! It went to the motor museum at Gaydon but then popped up for sale at a dealer a few years back which is where I grabbed the pictures from. Checking the 'tax' status today it's still on the road. My grandfather kept it in concours condition but drove it like a nutter! He worked for the BBC and had various contacts at Jaguar ... it was reputed to have been built with a 'special' engine.

People don't realise how fast "fast cars" were driven in period. Modern vehicles are driven amazingly sedately relative to back in the day, when doing the ton was just taken for granted on the new dual carriageways while sedate A35's pottered along at 25 or 30.

 

[BTB 500]

People don't realise how fast "fast cars" were driven in period. Modern vehicles are driven amazingly sedately relative to back in the day, when doing the ton was just taken for granted on the new dual carriageways while sedate A35's pottered along at 25 or 30.

I certainly remember seeing 100+ on the speedo from the back seat and IIRC it had a top speed of over 130 ... pretty incredible for a 1950s car.

A few years ago I stumbled on a set of colour pictures taken when the car was only a year or two old. A Jaguar enthusiast had bought them in a box of slides at a car boot fair, and uploaded them to the xkdata.com website. None of our family knew of their existence.







The dealer advert and pictures from when it last sold are still online here:

JD Classics

JD Classics | Restoration, Race preparation and Sales for Jaguar, Ferrari, and Aston Martin classic cars

woodham-mortimer.com

 

[C43AMG]

I certainly remember seeing 100+ on the speedo from the back seat and IIRC it had a top speed of over 130 ... pretty incredible for a 1950s car.

A few years ago I stumbled on a set of colour pictures taken when the car was only a year or two old. A Jaguar enthusiast had bought them in a box of slides at a car boot fair, and uploaded them to the xkdata.com website. None of our family knew of their existence.

View attachment 139339

View attachment 139338

View attachment 139337

The dealer advert and pictures from when it last sold are still online here:

JD Classics

JD Classics | Restoration, Race preparation and Sales for Jaguar, Ferrari, and Aston Martin classic cars

woodham-mortimer.com

Wonderful Reg

Last MOT 5 April 2013 with 73,855 miles

Last V5C issued was 20 July 2022.

 

[Darrell]

I certainly remember seeing 100+ on the speedo from the back seat and IIRC it had a top speed of over 130 ... pretty incredible for a 1950s car.

A few years ago I stumbled on a set of colour pictures taken when the car was only a year or two old. A Jaguar enthusiast had bought them in a box of slides at a car boot fair, and uploaded them to the xkdata.com website. None of our family knew of their existence.

View attachment 139339

View attachment 139338

View attachment 139337

The dealer advert and pictures from when it last sold are still online here:

JD Classics

JD Classics | Restoration, Race preparation and Sales for Jaguar, Ferrari, and Aston Martin classic cars

woodham-mortimer.com

I always thought that XK120 etc denoted the top speed.

 

[BTB 500]

I always thought that XK120 etc denoted the top speed.

I don't think an XK150 would do 150 mph, even with the most powerful engine option. Could be wrong though!

 

[BTB 500]

From a quick Google the XK120 was indeed named based on the top speed, but not the 140 or 150. The 150 was actually the slowest when first launched, but could do 135 mph with the more powerful 'S' engines.

Jaguar XK150 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[BTB 500]

Wonderful Reg

Last MOT 5 April 2013 with 73,855 miles

Last V5C issued was 20 July 2022.

I don't know how people obtained plates like that in the 'old days'? As a kid in Shepperton in the '60s I used to see a Rover P5 registered 'VAT 69' and always assumed if it was something to do with the whisky!

The XK150 would be MOT exempt now ... don't remember how long ago that started, but presumably after 2013!

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

From a quick Google the XK120 was indeed named based on the top speed, but not the 140 or 150. The 150 was actually the slowest when first launched, but could do 135 mph with the more powerful 'S' engines.

Jaguar XK150 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

From memory the XK120 was given its name because of that top speed, which Alan Clark regularly “claimed” to have done on his. The 140 and 150 were simply model number updates as the car got sleeker.

It was the E type that was the first Jag to lay claim to 150, although there was always a bit of a challenge about how true that was. Both manufacturer and magazines tested it quietly on the M1 during Summer evenings and early mornings.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I don't know how people obtained plates like that in the 'old days'? As a kid in Shepperton in the '60s I used to see a Rover P5 registered 'VAT 69' and always assumed if it was something to do with the whisky!

The XK150 would be MOT exempt now ... don't remember how long ago that started, but presumably after 2013!

The Sunday Times as well as Exchange and Mart used to carry number plate adverts.

The old rule was that anything manufactured before1960 didn’t need an MOT. Back in May 2018, that changed to anything older than 40 years not needing to be MOT tested.

 

[Bellow]

173mph in 1953.

The History of Jaguar - World Record Breaking Cars scroll down.

Modified, admittedly - but still recognisable as a road car.

 

[ALFAitalia]

The Sunday Times as well as Exchange and Mart used to carry number plate adverts.

The old rule was that anything manufactured before1960 didn’t need an MOT. Back in May 2018, that changed to anything older than 40 years not needing to be MOT tested.

Only if you re- register the vehicle as a "historic vehicle " and is largely unmodified....otherwise you still need to MOT it.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Only if you re- register the vehicle as a "historic vehicle " and is largely unmodified....otherwise you still need to MOT it.

Not quite: the requirement to reregister it as a "historic vehicle," is purely to stop paying annual vehicle tax.
And yes, that's only for vehicles which have not been substantially modified.

To quote HM Government:

"You must apply for a vehicle tax exemption to stop paying vehicle tax. This is sometimes called putting a vehicle into the ‘historic tax class’.
You do not have to apply to stop getting an MOT for your vehicle each year. However, you must still keep it in a roadworthy condition.

From this Government website:
Historic (classic) vehicles: MOT and vehicle tax




.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I certainly remember seeing 100+ on the speedo from the back seat and IIRC it had a top speed of over 130 ... pretty incredible for a 1950s car.

A few years ago I stumbled on a set of colour pictures taken when the car was only a year or two old. A Jaguar enthusiast had bought them in a box of slides at a car boot fair, and uploaded them to the xkdata.com website. None of our family knew of their existence.

View attachment 139339

View attachment 139338

View attachment 139337

The dealer advert and pictures from when it last sold are still online here:

JD Classics

JD Classics | Restoration, Race preparation and Sales for Jaguar, Ferrari, and Aston Martin classic cars

woodham-mortimer.com

Truly beautiful car.

Are the people in the photos your family?

I’ve hankered after an E-type for a while and recently started drifting my Internet searches to the XKs. I’d love a very well looked after but “lived-in” example that I could confidently use every day, both in terms of it’s mechanical condition but also parking in public car parks.

 

[Mactech]

173mph in 1953.

The History of Jaguar - World Record Breaking Cars scroll down.

Modified, admittedly - but still recognisable as a road car.

Yes, I got caught up in this debate when developing the XJ220. Initially Jaguar said it was just a name to denote the next generation of Jaguar sports cars taking the XJ120 as a base. The press took that as meaning the car must have a top speed of 220mph, and guess who had the job of trying to get to that figure whilst juggling all the criteria of costs, practicality, emission regulations and production reality?
I was the first to do over 200mph in the car and race driver Andy Wallace did a genuine 213mph average around the oval circuit at Fort Stockton in Texas.
Martin Brundle did 217mph average around NARDO in Italy a year later, but the car was regarded as a 'failure' for not legally achieving the number that Jaguar had christened it with!
With the addition of a little more modern technology, I have driven a 220 which is capable of over 240mph, but for production certification we had to stick strictly to the rules....unlike some of the XK and E type cars of earlier generations.

 

[Mactech]

Truly beautiful car.

Are the people in the photos your family?

I’ve hankered after an E-type for a while and recently started drifting my Internet searches to the XKs. I’d love a very well looked after but “lived-in” example that I could confidently use every day, both in terms of it’s mechanical condition but also parking in public car parks.

Our team manager for works Jaguar racing team back in the 80's ran an E type for many years. He has recently changed it for a very nice 'Pagoda' Mercedes which he feels is just on another level in terms of engineering quality.
Just sayin'....

 

[poormansporsche]

Truly beautiful car.

Are the people in the photos your family?

I’ve hankered after an E-type for a while and recently started drifting my Internet searches to the XKs. I’d love a very well looked after but “lived-in” example that I could confidently use every day, both in terms of it’s mechanical condition but also parking in public car parks.

Get your gas sorted and you could probably pay for one in about 3 weeks with the savings

 

[BTB 500]

Are the people in the photos your family?

Two of them are - my grandfather (actually step grandfather) who bought the car new in 1959, and my grandmother. My dad thought possibly taken on a trip to visit his sister/my aunt in Edinburgh. My dad was a keen photographer and I have various pictures taken by him over the years e.g. this one from the mid-'70s

 

[SmartAmg]

Two of them are - my grandfather (actually step grandfather) who bought the car new in 1959, and my grandmother. My dad thought possibly taken on a trip to visit his sister/my aunt in Edinburgh. My dad was a keen photographer and I have various pictures taken by him over the years e.g. this one from the mid-'70s

View attachment 139348

Love the Red wheels.

 

[BTB 500]

Love the Red wheels.

He had a mangled one on the wall of his garage ... a result of clipping a roundabout that had been inconsiderately added to one of his favourite driving roads!