Silverstone Classic 2017 was a real Jaguar experience this year. Over 400 Jaguars turned out to display on the Copse Banking area, a record number of XJ220’s on track and the Jaguar Challenge made its first appearance at the event.
Ever year this event grows a little bit more and 2017 was no exception. Jaguar had a strong representation in various formats both on and off the track. As a Club we really enjoy this event, we get to meet so many people as well as reaffirm old relationships, it also has the added bonus of action and entertainment at ever corner.
The Club always draws a large crowd of cars and spectators and this was the case right from the off on Friday. The moment the first few cars turned up braving the wind you knew it would be a great weekend. From the popular MK2 which has been upgraded to a 4.2 ltr Supercharged engine to the Extreme E-Type. By Extreme I mean Extreme, 7.2 ltr V12, 660 BHP, 0 – 60 in just over 3 seconds.
The spaces soon filled up with everything from X-Types to XJ’s, F-Paces, E-Types, Mk1’s, you name it it was there with just one or two exceptions it was a wonderful walk through the history of Jaguar. Everyone had their own favourite from the popular to the unique, for me it was a series 2 XJ 4.2 ltr. Being someone who is slowly in the process of putting a V12 version of this car back together it was great inspiration to get on with it.
As always there were some great distractions, Swallows Jaguar, based in Rooks Bridge, brought along a Palmer Sports XK. When it was quiet between the races they had great fun starting her up and exploring the full vocal range of the engine. Have a look on our Facebook page to see a video, its worth it, just make sure the speakers are turned up.
Saturday and we had a full symphony of engines available, XK R-S, F-Types, 7.2 Ltr XJS Lister, Swallows XK, 4.2 ltr MK2, C-Type all parked in a line. Who says work isnt fun!
Out on the track we had the unique and probably once in a life time view of 33 XJ220’s including the famous ford Transit. Organised between Don Law and Silverstone to celebrate 25 years of Jaguar’s first Super car and one time fastest car in the world reaching 213 mph.
The cars were treated to a couple of laps and may have enjoyed a more brisk pace than many other parades as only fitting for this fantastic beast of a car. Only 281 of these cars were ever built meaning Silverstone Classic had 11% of the total production run out on track!
The added attraction was the Transit van at the back of the parade group. The story goes that when Jaguar and TWR were developing the XJ220 they discovered the wheel base of the Transit van was exactly the same. Suddenly they had a way of driving the engine without anyone knowing what it was, ingenious.
How do I book for 2018
Although not a cheap day out, if you catch the early bird booking which starts in November through to the end of March there are some great value tickets available and booked using the Club exclusive code will get you an infield pass to make the Jaguar display even more impressive.
Keep an eye on the Jaguar Enthusiast for the code to get booked (it makes a great Christmas present too) and 2018 see 2 anniversaries 70th of the XK and 50 of the XJ. It will be a busy event in 2018.
