Thirty years of Jaguar XJ40: great celebration in Dunkeld (Scotland)
After the first impression I posted in the 'Dunkeld topic' on the xj40.com forum, I published an extensive report with more than eighty photographs on this great and impressive meeting in Dunkeld. Below you find my contribution.
Other forum members also published their reports with photos, starting with Paul's contribution on page 54. It is over here, keep reading! Pim made a page on which he summarizes where photos and videos of the event can be found. Pim's overview is here.
Extensive report with photos
8 September 2016
My wife Sabine and me combined the Dunkeld event with a tour through Scotland, that we never visited before. Mind you, the ferry was booked and the early plan was to go with the earliest Insignia, which I couldn't restore in time (see topic over here), so I had to switch to the Daimler Double Six, but the lower wishbone bushes had to be changed in order to get a MOT. I could finish this challenging job just in time, made possible by my friends on this forum! See the heeeeelp!-topic! Also quite a test to drive a heavy car like the Double Six on its first trip after almost the complete V12-carrying front suspension came out and went back in … over almost 2,000 km of very bendy roads! When we arrived home, we have driven almost 2,500 km!
I will post a few further illustrations from Scotland later on in my front suspension rebuild topic, now to have an idea:
(I will leave these few photos out here, because on my own website, contrary to on the forum, I have a separate page on this, over here …)
We missed the 2 kilometer driveway and took the gravel rear path … We received a warm welcome by mr. Rob XJ40 Jenner himself, he knew me!! while we never met! What to think of that?
He directed all drivers to an apparently foreseen ballet. Great to see all these XJ40s and in such a nice place. [I omitted some tens of pictures here. See for many more photo's the photo album on this website]
Ah, an Insignia! What about the shiny paint 'White pearl'?! Insignia only! The peculiar shape of the more or less hand-built Majestic coachwork is also very clear: 5 cm higher and 12.5 cm longer in the rear part of the cabin. Rob Jenner's treasure. It is a 4.0 Daimler from the last year, 1994.
Just like the past two weeks, it was very nice weather. Nice to meet fellow enthusiasts and have a drink. Louise, Chris W. and Linda, Naki in front, Charles, Anne-Marie (Leo just went), Pim and Florian.
We gathered in the Garden Room for the welcome.
The initiator of this magnificent festival of thirty years of XJ40, Rory Semple, introduced it in the Garden Room.
Ed Abbott told about his job during the 1986 introduction.
Paul Skilleter prepared an exhibition with photos from the 1986 press introduction on this very place.
Time to meet … Paul Skilleter, ?, Jim Randle and two partners.
And then the dinner in the dining room, with other hotel guests.
Ed Abbott, ?, Jim Randle, Paul Skilleter and their partners.
I recognise David Marks, Rob Jenner, Letitia Mace, Paul Keating in front?
My table: Nicole (Florian), Cassandra (Pim), Nike (Naki), Sabine (my wife), Leo, Naki, Pim. And a rally plaque )
OK, back to work: in the evening several experts shared their knowledge and remembrances with us. Eager to hear them!
Jonathan Partridge, still in charge of the management of the vehicle collection at the Jaguar Heritage Trust, told on the launch of the XJ40, from a sales and marketing perspective. He showed figures that the Series 3 was actually judged as more attractive than the XJ40 (primarily the interior, that hence was redesigned to contain less plastic), but the XJ40 was still ahead of the eternal Mercedes S and BMW 7.
Ed Abbott, in 1986 Principal Engineer Vehicle Proving, about the testing programme under extreme conditions, with some interesting pictures of the disguised cars and the field-workshops.
Paul Skilleter, car journalist with special interest of Jaguar (and a lot of knowlegde and a unique photo archive) and author of many books.
Do we recognise Peter Taylor here? And front shock absorber bushes?
Ann Hunt, head receptionist of this Dunkeld House Hotel during the 1986 introduction and not coincidentally just thirty years together with Howard Hunt. Howard prepared the press cars for the press route here in Dunkeld in 1986. Ann and Howard prepared the rally route and book for tomorrow.
Next morning, Monday 29 August 2016. Howard and Ann Hunt distributing the route books for the rally. Since they met here thirty years ago, they do this rally organising job as a team )
Briefing the rally by Howard and Ann.
Rob Jenner, in front of the interesting exhibition full of historic information.
Queing up for the rally, in the well-considered order … We also see the 1953 XK120 from Colin & Anne Stewart.
Carl strictly posed a 90.0 second interval between the take-offs. Authority! (Something the Dutch are rather obstructive to … at least, some … OK, I will speak for myself). Well, driving in convoy was prohibited. We see the white Majestic Insignia of Rob. Also note the great environment.
The only XJ40 with a queue for buying it … if it would be for sale and the owners told me it is not. What an amazing colour! Peppermint green, Insignia again! Cassandra behind the wheel.
For me the most special car: not a Jaguar but a Daimler, but not only a Daimler but a Double Six, but not only a Daimler Double Six (I have two of these ordinary cars, one of them here), but a Daimler Double Six Majestic! Ah, that's special. But it is not a special Daimler Double Six Majestic, it is an ultra special rare amazing Daimler Double Six Majestic Insignia! I guess it is Mineral Green, again an Insignia only colour. Steiner Skauen and partner came all the way from Norway! And I forgot to talk to them, stupid!
Paul Skilleter was allowed to take the very last XJ40 produced from the Jaguar Heritage museum collection to this celebration.
There we go. The route was not the complete 1986 route, as this would be too long. This also meant that we didn't drive through real mountains and the Glen Shee (mentioned by John Egan) for example. Well, enough to enjoy over 149 km (93 mile).
Although nobody was driving fast, we met an XJ40, always nice! Simon and Jill in their XJ12. Ever seen four 6.0 litre V12s driving in a queue?!
First stop at the borders of Loch Earn, near Lochearnhead at Clachan Cottage Hotel.
Time to ask Rob about the way he figured out the Insignia and Majestic build list. And the weird position of my impossible early Insignia on it (or off it).
Two-in-one: driver plus stone railway bridge.
Was he doing this because he expected us to drive fast? Mind the heavy forks inside the soft hay!! We drove eastward along Loch Tay.
Lunch stop at Kenmore. Pretty village, but not all inhabitants liked the parking habits of all those XJ40 drivers. But there were simply rather much of them …
Welcome to Kenmore. Do I see convoying there?! Everyone had his own scedule, as the 90 seconds interval was long forgotten and not dealt with after the breaks …
Partridge and Broekhoven & Swart having a picnic. With the last XJ40 at hand.
Hmm? What a coincidence. Jaguar's cars are pretty and designed well, but apparently others can also do a fair job.
Intermezzo: on our way to Durham, I saw clearly demonstrated that something went terribly wrong with modern car design. Take a nice car, a heavy steel pipe and a massive compressor. Implant the pipe in the car, seal the car and inflate it with the compressor, be careful not to let the car blow. Done!
OK, on with the rally. We did not chase, really! Always nice to see an XJ40 driving in front of you. This is the XJ6 from Rodney and Vicky Butler. Sabine even made a film through the sunroof aperture …
Exciting.
Back on the looong driveway of the Dunkeld House Hotel.
I don't know what Sabine did all the time, but with Cassandra she managed to go to the top floor where the manager lives. He already made photos with his own phone of this apparently unique ensemble! Unique it is.
Do we see mr. Jenner executing power here? He has the Great Picture in his head.
Yes Pim, go that way, no excuses.
Four remarkable cars professionally photographed. Letitia's Sovereign, Rob's Majestic Insignia, Mark's only surviving press car, and Pim and Cassandra's Peppermint green Insignia.
Davide and Rory (Chiara behind the bootlid) and a young man behind the wheel. I like the shirt.
Ann and Howard Hunt judging the XJ40s.
After returning to the Dunkeld House Hotel [I have skipped many pictures of XJ40s here …], we had drinks, a dinner and presentations. [I did not use a flash as its range is too limited, but just took several photos with long exposure times and choose the least motion blurred one … also adds to the atmosphere, one could say …]
David Marks did not only tell about the restoration or recreation of the only known surviving press car, the white D38 BRW also present today, for which even unique panels had to be made. He told us about all we have read about on this forum but possibly never met or repaired by ourselves. Dry soldering joints, early VF instrument displays (Vacuum Fluorescent, reminds me of my first Nakamichi 680 cassette deck, such good remembrances, I wish I had never sold it!), aircon flaps and blowers and so on. The bottom line for me was more or less: if you know where to look and are handy, then there is almost never a reason to throw a car away or spend a half year income on it by outsourcing it to an expensive garage.
Drinks in the classical lobby before dinner. Jill, Anne-Marie, Sabine, Viktoria, Nicole, Leo, John talking with Pim with Soni behind him, Luke and Naki in the background, Aart.
After the dinner, Peter Taylor and Jim Randle gave very interesting presentations. Meanwhile the awards were given. As far as I remember: Letitia Mace the 'Best of show' for her 1988 red Sovereign, Steinar Skauen for the longest distance travelled, Florian Granzeier the 'Spirit of the day' for the bad luck with his Chasseur on the way to the ferry. And a surprised Rob Jenner got the lifetime achievement award, needless to say why.
This was about a photo Rob Jenner confronted Jim Randle with, but I forgot the clue.
The initiator and owner of the forum, John Ratcliffe, briefly described what and why he started all this and sketched his expectations that he hoped that some 80 enthusiasts would find their way to the forum … How completely out of hand that went! "It was my fault!"
Rory Semple received the price for all this from Jim Randle.
Rory, John and Jim.
Pim managed to get the very first and unique pre-production XJ40 model on a scale of 1 to 18 here. The Dutch owner of the brand, himself an owner of a (well-known) mahogany Daimler Insignia, allowed for this. It was given to Rory, as a big thanks for all he did (with Naki) to organise this 30th anniversary here in Dunkeld!
Dinner. The table seating was organised before. Each table was named after a Jaguar-celebrity: Sir John Egan, Sir William Lyons, Norman Dewis, Bob Knight, Wally Hassan, Malcolm Oliver, Lofty England, Harry Mundy, and Jim Randle.
Peter Taylor started his presentation. He is often visible on the old 1986 photos, as he was the manager of the press car engineering. He told about the preparation of the (pre-production) Special Designated Vehicles that were used for the press launch and the improvements that were made. In fact engineering and launching a refined car like the XJ40 with 200 engineers was a challenging job and Taylor recalls John Egan saying that the only reason that Jaguar did the XJ40 project was that nobody tells them that it was impossible. An other funny detail was that only several hours before the launch, the test staff realised that the 2.9 and 3.6 XJ40s could not be told apart from the outside, so that if a journalist would ask what engine the car he drove with has, the Jaguar engineer had to answer "I don't know". A member had the idea of painting a tiny white dot of Tipp-ex on the cooling fan hub on the 3.6 models, so that the staff could discriminate them by viewing through the grille …
Jim Randle gave a presentation starting with William Lyons ("Sir William" is enough), telling about the skills and personality of Bob Knight and the incredible job he did about designing the most refined suspension in the world AND the stubborn drive to save Jaguar as a separate company, but the main part of Jim's talk was on the suspension. In depth, I mean: geometry, lines, forces, triangles, trapeziums, anti-dive and anti-squat, pros and cons. I could only just understand … or not.
Randle also showed work on the possible successors of the XJ40, for example the pretty XJ90, that however could not be developed because Jaguar could not get the business case for it. Later on, it saw the market as the Aston Martin DB7, because that brand could solely because of its name charge £ 10,000 pound more for it than Jaguar could, hence making the business case.
Some of us got so much energy of all this great atmosphere and information and friends, that they kept talking and discussing till far after midnight … Charles, Carl, Letitia, Chris P., Naki, Rob, Paul, Soni.
OK now. Maybe I will figure out how to make a slide show or photo viewer on my own server with html or so in the following weeks, if so I will publish the photos of the individual XJ40s!
All the best,
Rens
Next page: the 37 XJ40s present and their owners
Overview and introduction: meeting to celebrate thirty years of Jaguar XJ40 in Dunkeld, 28 and 29 August 2016
Kind regards,
Rens Swart