Happy 70th to Jaguar’s XK
cars from around the globe flock to shelsley Walsh to celebrate XK70
Shelsley Walsh hill climb was besieged with Jaguars celebrating 70 years since the XK120 and its XK twin-cam engine were jointly launched. The XK70 event, organised by the XK Club, drew cars and enthusiasts from as far away as Australia and attracted XKS with special histories.
XK120 NASCAR
Laurent Schneider came to the event from France with a 1952 XK that won the first ever NASCAR road race, the International 100 held over a two-mile course on Linden air base, New Jersey on June 13, 1954. ‘This is its first time back in the UK since it was exported to the US importer in New York June 1952,’ Schneider explained. ‘I found it in California three or four years ago – and the heritage certificate stated that it had won this race. I only decided to come here three weeks ago so I gave it a quick paint job and did the brakes, radiator etc.’ According to the Heritage Certificate the first owner was Margaret Whiteman. ‘She was married to NASCAR racer Paul Whiteman, so I call the car Margaret.’
The car was driven by Al Keller in the race, one of 21 European cars in a 43-car field, ‘It was one of four Jaguars in the top 10. The European cars didn’t use as much fuel, and after that NASCAR didn’t allow foreign cars to run.’
Mille Miglia C-type
Joel Berg demonstrated his 1952 C-type on the hill. ‘It’s pretty narrow, a bit scary,’ he said, despite having tackled the Mille Miglia retrospective shortly after the car’s most recent restoration. ‘XKC016 had a bad crash on the 1953 Mille Miglia and was written off.’ The accident happened at night when Pierre Vignon and Luc Decollanges hit a level crossing and rolled, Vignon dying from his injuries. After that the car was stripped for parts and left in a French yard. ‘It was discovered in 1972, but the restoration was quite bad, particularly the front of the chassis and some of the body panels. Now there’s not one washer that was made after 1952 – but some people criticise its authenticity.’
Paris Show XK120
The ninth alloy-bodied XK120 roadster built, imported new by Jaguar dealership Royal Elysées and star of the 1949 Paris show, was driven up from Annecy by owner Paul Gallegos. It was one of 30 XKS that came up from France. ‘Apart from when I had it retrimmed this is its first proper trip to the UK since it left Coventry in 1949,’ said Gallegos. ‘It’s a well-sorted car and I don’t believe in transporting them.’ He bought the car in 2007 in need of restoration. ‘It had been off the road for 30 years. One of the worst parts of the project was working out how far to go. I wasn’t going to replace the timber frame but I ended up having to.’