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It was interesting to see the three generations parked next to each other. You really see how the side impact restrictions on newer car doors has changed the heights of quarter panels and fenders-the newer Dodge Challenger or Chevy Camaro come to mind. They lowered the roof lines on the Challenger and Camaro to try and hide this but man if you park a '67 Camaro next to a new Camaro you can really see how much taller the doors and therefore the sides are on the new cars.
We are very lucky to have a car like the XJS that started out in the mid '70's and body wise stayed basically the same for 21 years. My '95 XJS door is the same height as the '75 XJS so visually you get a long and low look which IMO makes the XJS look very distinctive. I park our red '95 XJS in front of our '95 Corvette ( rear bumper to rear bumper ) and as low as the '95 vette sits it is still almost 2 inches taller then the XJS trunk lid to trunk lid edge.
That's very true - so many modern cars have extremely high waists, and the back is so high rear-view cameras aren't a luxury but a requirement. Everyone from Jag to Porsche to Cadillac is giving their cars big *****. When I drive my car, it can feel rather big and long (especially long) but then I park it next to more modern cars in a carpark, and I can't believe how small it looks.
Well, my new record is now 700kms (round trip) just completed over the weekend, with two other fellow Jaguars enthusiasts from my area. We drove from my home town of the Sunshine Coast Queensland all the way down to Tenterfield NSW, which really isnt that far as it is just over the border. Beautiful old country town caught in a time Capsule. We met up with some NSW members at our final destination for a great weekend:
Even found an old live working steam train along the way!
And the craziest thing....on the way back we found some farmer had built a pyramid along side the road in the middle of the country! The things you see road trippin'
The first major trip I did in my car was a holiday to France. I took a nice leisurely 2 day drive down going via some nice hotels on the way before picking up the wife and little one at the airport. As I'm sure many of you will know the roads in France seem particularly suited to anyone who likes driving, so I made the most of my time and stuck to the old backroads.
The total mileage we covered over the ten days was about 1700 miles and looked something a bit like this..
I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest she got over there, people stopping to take photos, others asking what car it is (at least I think that's what they were asking - rusty French) and others just waving and giving the thumbs up.
Like others have said she seemed to get better and better over the holiday as both the clutch and new suspension all bedded in. No dramas, no issues, just perfection. A properly good GT car in my opinion. I'll definitely be taking her on some more driving holidays as time permits over the next few years, i'd have no concerns planning a drive down to Italy or up to Norway in her. Anyhow, enough of the waffle, here's some pics and a video of her whilst away.
Backup Sat Nav and map in case...!
Just clicked over to this as I arrived back at the port on the crossing home!
The car looks great in Black Cherry. I had a 1992 Series III V12 saloon in that colour. Never would have thought of using XJR wheels, but they look good.
I love those wheels, tried to get a set but are rare as hens teeth down under.
They are definitely beautiful wheels. There's currently a set on ebay.com.au for sale, and the seller definitely knows what they have is rare, based on how much they want for them.
