Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine columnist and renowned Jaguar historian Paul Skilleter has received the Royal Automobile Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising six decades of outstanding work in motoring journalism, publishing and photography.
The honour was announced at the Royal Automobile Club’s Motoring Book of the Year Awards, held at its Pall Mall clubhouse in London on Wednesday 28 October. It celebrates a career that has helped generations of enthusiasts understand, enjoy and preserve motoring history, with Paul’s contribution to recording the Jaguar story being particularly significant.
Readers of Jaguar Enthusiast will know Paul through his regular column, which brings his knowledge and personal perspective to our pages. Beyond the magazine, his books, including Jaguar Sports Cars and Jaguar Saloon Cars, have become standard reference works for those researching the marque, while his writing has preserved the experiences of the people behind its cars.
Introducing the award, judging panel chairman Simon Taylor highlighted the breadth of Paul’s achievements. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises a significant contribution to published automotive work, and Paul’s career encompasses an unusually wide range of disciplines: photographer, road tester, journalist, magazine founder, author and book publisher.
His professional story began in 1966, when he joined the weekly magazine Motor as a staff photographer, soon adding writing and road testing to his responsibilities. He subsequently joined Thoroughbred & Classic Cars shortly after its launch, before taking the considerable personal risk of borrowing against his house to establish Practical Classics.
The early years were challenging, but the magazine became a major success and was eventually sold to a large publishing company. Paul went on to launch The Automobile and Jaguar Quarterly, further extending his influence on the way historic cars were documented and enjoyed. In 1989, he founded PJ Publishing with his wife June.
Throughout that career, his enthusiasm for Jaguar has remained a constant. It began in his early twenties with an XK140 and extended to competition, including racing an aluminium-bodied XK120 and a 2.4-litre saloon. That practical involvement brought another dimension to his work: alongside the meticulous research was the experience of owning, driving and competing in the cars themselves.
As Simon Taylor’s introduction made clear, accuracy and painstaking research have always underpinned Paul’s output. Yet behind the books, magazines and publishing achievements remains an enthusiast whose curiosity and affection for old cars will be familiar to our readers.
Everyone at Jaguar Enthusiast and the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club warmly congratulates Paul on this richly deserved recognition, and on an exceptional contribution to the literature and understanding of our favourite marque.
