Blackpool Tower

In the shadow of the famous Blackpool Tower, we created as display of historically significant cars to the Jaguar story. Furthermore, as locals and tourists descended on the famous beaches, the display of Jaguars along the promenade highlighted Jaguars amazing heritage and vehicles to a much wider audience of public than just us in the Jaguar & SS fraternity.

It’s fair to say that putting on a car display on a seafront promenade creates all sorts of logistical difficulties, not to mention the restrictions from local authorities. All this meant that the display was split in two, but that did not deter us all from having a superb weekend.

The middle promenade tier and the timeline display areas were full of magnificent examples from all Jaguar & SS models. The timeline display featured nearly all models from the 100 years of SS through to Jaguar from a 1925 Brough Superior motorcycle, with its 1928 Swallow Model 4 Sidecar through to the 2017 Jaguar XE Project 8 Development Prototype.

All models from sports saloons through to race winners were covered, including a last-minute addition in the form of a 2002 Daimler Super V8 owned by Queen Elizabeth II. This was a great sight alongside an XK8 with the Union Jack livery, both marking the Queen’s reign and indeed her obvious love of Jaguars.

The XJ13 was also on display, courtesy of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT) of course, alongside their C-Type and D-Type. The JDHT took great delight in starting up the XJ13 on both days drawing big crowds and lots of attention. In all the Jaguar Daimler Heritage fleet was made up of their stunning SS1 Airline and the company’s first sportscar, a Swallow bodied Wolseley Hornet. A special part of the line-up was an Austin Seven Swallow affectionately known as ‘Bumble Bee.’ It is the oldest known surviving Swallow motor vehicle and is thought to be one of only three cars preserved from the Blackpool production line.

Continuing the royal theme was Princess Diana’s XJS Cabriolet, a Mark IV, the famous E-type 77RW that Norman Dewis famously drove to the Geneva motor show in seventeen hours, an X-type SVO, the XJR Nurburgring Taxi and a Project 7. We owe the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust a huge vote of thanks for bringing us such a collection to compliment all our members’ cars to tell the Jaguar story in its entirety. The real stars of the show however, as always, were the many JEC members who turned out in force to enjoy and support this momentous occasion.

These included amongst many others, Lance Cunningham’s F-type which is a unique Ian Callum model and an XF-RS tuned by Lister. Tony Pearson’s stunning 1931 Austin Seven Swallow Tourer and Simon Pope’s Mark 10.

Thank you

Speaking of the many volunteers that made the event happen, JEC Events Manager Andy Webber said,

“I would like to acknowledge the support of the Red Rose, Cheshire and Manchester regions who all played a huge part in the organisation of this event to make it happen. I’d like to thank Robin Singleton and Frank Burke as well, who worked tirelessly in the timeline area throughout the weekend. Peter Rodgers, Paul Rogers, and David Limb deserve special thanks. They made the event possible and supported the club hugely in the organisation which demanded a marvellous effort over many months.”

Andy continued.

“Also, thanks again to the JDHT for bringing a record of 15 cars from the collection involving a few hundred miles round trip to Blackpool and many of their volunteers and staff. They spent many hours across the weekend speaking to our members and the public about the cars and their stories. Many of the public weren’t aware of the link Jaguars had with Blackpool and were enthusiastic about our efforts to celebrate it in the home of Jaguar.”

Inchcape Jaguar of Preston supported the event with their impressive line-up of current models including an F-Pace SVR. Their Jaguar show room trailer was busy with enthusiasts admiring the latest models throughout the weekend. Inchcape Jaguar’s sponsorship of the event and the Gala dinner was much appreciated by all.

On the Saturday evening, guests were treated to a gala dinner at The Imperial Hotel, attended by over 240 people. Guests enjoyed speeches by Michael Quinn, William Lyons’ first grandson and Matthew Davis, MD of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust.

See our event reports in Classic Car Weekly and Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine.