There’s nothing like the medieval surroundings of Windsor Castle to bring together Jaguar fans and make them realise that whatever their car – 60 years old or 6 – they all enjoy much the same things, or so it seems. Maybe it’s the fact that Windsor’s near millennium of history somewhat dwarves Jaguar’s 81 years of existence.
Whatever the reason, we were only too happy to see XJ40s, F-Types and XK8s all drawing crowds, even when parked opposite more traditional ‘exotica’ such as the second ever Jaguar D-Type.
In honour of the stonking turnout of post-1980 Jaguars at the Royal Windsor Jaguar Festival, here’s just a few that turned our heads.
Jaguar XKSS
No, seriously. Jaguar fans who don’t keep up to date with the goings on at Jaguar Classic might think we’re pulling their leg here, but we’re not.
This XKSS is, of course, one of Jaguar Classic’s recent reproductions. Produced exactly to the specifications of the 1957 original, this one-off build is being followed by what is officially considered a ‘re-run’ of production.
Nine XKSS are being built by Jaguar, which will take the chassis number of nine XKSSs that were damaged by fire in the Browns Lane Factory 60 years ago.
At the festival, the XKSS constantly drew crowds and the poor Jaguar employee who was tasked with guarding the car spent seemingly spent the entire day ‘it has not been restored, we made it from scratch exactly as they were built’.
Jaguar XJ220
While it may not have blended with the surroundings of Windsor Castle in quite the way many of the older Jaguars did at the Royal Windsor Jaguar Festival, Colin Manconi’s XJ220 still drew more than its fair share of attention.
Just 271 XJ220s were made by Jaguar, the timing of its arrival poorly coinciding with the early ’90s recession, meaning the car is as rare as it is stunning!
Jaguar XK8 ‘Shaguar’
This 2001 XK8 was one of two ‘Shaguars’ driven by Austin Powers in the popular spoof trilogy. A 1961 E-Type starred in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), while this XK8 served as ‘SWINGER2’ in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2003).
Now owned by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, the Shaguar spends most of its time on display at the British Motor Museum. For the Royal Windsor Jaguar Festival, however, the car joined in our parade of over 250 cars through the streets of Windsor.
The XK8 is a gem of car which also happens to currently be one of the great bargain Jaguars – as perhaps the most famous of the lot, the Shaguar gets a cringe-inducing ‘yeah baby!’ for this list.
Jaguar F-Type SVR
Fresh from its mid-life facelift, the Jaguar F-Type is looking as sharp as ever. Jaguar was kind enough to bring the range-topping SVR along with them to the event, which we imagine was many festival-goers first opportunity to see the new-for-2017 update in the metal.
In truth, the SVR is probably the least changed model of the entire F-Type range in this wave of updates, with mostly aesthetic tweaks.
That didn’t stop a crowd from forming every time the SVR’s 5.0 litre supercharged V8 fired up however!
Lynx Eventer
Having one of the longest production runs of any single Jaguar model, the XJS was bound to feature in this list. But of course, this isn’t a normal XJS. This 1984 Lynx Eventer was one of two in our parade through Windsor – both of which proved popular with the public.
While the Eventer is one of Britain’s most famous coach built conversions, with all reports suggesting a product of great quality, only 67 were made by the Sussex outfit. What a shame.
Jaguar XJ40 Sovereign Sport
This 1991 XJ40 is the property of David Finch and we can’t commend the aggressiveness of his 4.0 litre Sovereign enough. The red-on-red exterior colour scheme combines fantastically with the bullish looks of the XJ40, giving the car a lairy appearance rarely seen on big Jaguars.
The XJ40 is far too often maligned by the mainstream press, with well-publicised electrical faults seemingly having ruined its reputation, but we’re sure this XJ40 -nor its owner – cares about any of that!
Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign
Another XJ Sovereign, Kevin Daly’s 1986 Series 3 must surely be one of the last of the XK-powered cars ever made. Owned by Kevin for over 21 years, the car has benefited from a recent restoration, giving the car an almost new appearance some 31 years after it came off the production line.
The Series 3 XJ actually carried on in low volumes until 1992, available only with a V12, making the original XJ by far the longest-running Jaguar model.
