Caught somewhere in time – Nicko McBrain’s XJ6 will be joining us at Wroxall Abbey

25th April 2018

Jaguar Classics have been turning out some of the most eye-catching and headline-grabbing cars of the last few years. Their continuation series cars have proven immensely successful and the attitude to preserving history is second to none. Last year at Windsor we were graced with the XKSS’ presence on the parade and this year we are proud to welcome the latest creation – Nico McBrain’s ‘Greatest Hits’ Jaguar XJ.

McBrain, renowned for his frenzied drumming for the band Iron Maiden, is a prolific collector of all things Jaguar. He made headlines a few years ago with custom XKR-S that was adorned with Iron Maiden logos, fonts and custom touches from the man himself. If you’ve not seen the video of his car we recommend watching the below to get a sense of the man, his passion, and his Jags.

The latest car to receive the McBrain creative treatment is his third XJ. Musicians talk of the difficult third album – not in this case, McBrain’s third XJ is aptly named the ‘Greatest Hits’ XJ as it is arguably the best XJ in existence. And you can come to see it live at Wroxall Abbey.

So why is this XJ so special? It’s the personal touches and much more that lift it up to where eagles dare. The stereo fitted to the car is a real slave to power, using the 1100W system from the Jaguar XF, while all stereo knobs in the car are machined to look like guitar amplifier knobs. The custom theme continues inside as ‘Eddie’ the Iron Maiden mascot has been incorporated into Jaguar’s logo, named the ‘Eddie Growler’ who was first seen in McBrain’s bespoke XKR-S.

Jaguar purists are all too aware of the evil that men do when restoring cars, however Nicko has been true to heritage and kept a number of original features on the car. What first attracted him to the XJ was the leaper on the bonnet, and this car uses the leaper that attracted him so many years ago. The engine is the same 4.2L in-line six-cylinder unit from the first car, using 2-inch SU carburettors from the E-Type. To start it, one must use the original keys from 1984. The Greatest Hits XJ took an incredible 3500 man hours to complete –no wasted years here.

Join us to see this brave new world of classic car restoration live at Wroxall, click HERE for more details, and we promise we’ll cool it with the Iron Maiden puns.