Spent the weekend in Victoria,Tx running the Texas Mile at the airport. Had fellow list member Matt *** there also with his 2014 XJR.
A very humbling experience all the way around. Lots of high end cars and seems like everyone is faster than you!

But I think our Jaguars showed well even though there were only 3 of us. Two 2014 XJR's and a 2012 XKR with a tune and pulley.
My best was 167.2 mph. They also measure the 1/4 and 1/2 miles so I pleased to see a best of 119 in the 1/4.
A runway is certainly not a drag strip and all the launches were not great. Last 2 runs I stayed in it past the lights as I wanted to see 180 on the speedo before braking.
There is still more to go, I just need some more space. Very quiet and stable at all speeds.




Got 8 runs in. Used the paddle shifters on the last 2 runs. In auto the car wants to shift from 5th to 6th at about 165 and it sort of lays down a bit.
Using the paddles I keep it at 7K thru the mile lights in 5th but ran about a 1 mph slower. Just can't out shift that ZF tranny!

Top car was an unreal Ford GT. 5.4L V-8 twin turbo with an estimated 1600 HP. Holds the all time Texas Mile record of 293 mph in the standing mile.
Only ran 254 this year and broke the transmission. Of course the 1000HP Lamborghini Huracan, McLaren 720S, Ferrari 458,AMG 63S were pretty cool to!

This event is a little different as nobody wins. There are no prizes,classes,awards or ceremonies outside of the mandatory drivers meetings. Everyone that turns in their time slip gets the same certificate with their top speed on it. No limit on mods,fuel,engine size or type, 2,3,4 or more wheels,any make and model including several home made entries. As long as it can pass tech along with all your safety gear you can run.
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It was a good time! Already thinking about a few easy and affordable things I can do to be faster in March!
My top run was 163.8 mph. I'm bone stock.

 

 

"Already thinking about a few easy and affordable things I can do to be faster in March!"

Start by removing the side mirrors and wipers! And tape up all the cracks and unnecessary ducting in the front of the car. At top speeds, it's all about wind resistance.

 

I got the opportunity to run the Texas Mile again on October 18-20. I have added some things to my 2014 XJR and will post a few threads about them in the future.
A larger lower pulley, Stage 2 VAP tune, Larger all AL. inter-cooler and a larger Bosch 010 IC pump were installed several weeks ago.
I got several hundred street miles on it with no problems or check engine lights before the race.

Made 9 runs over 3 days with a lot of sitting on the grid waiting. I was rewarded with a nice increase in speed with a best of 174.6 mph. Last year my best was 167.2 mph.
Surprisingly that run was made manually shifting and DSC=OFF. Even got a little sideways around the 1-2 shift with some tire spin.
Usually I find the car is faster than I am and leave it in "S" and let it shift automatically.
Car is definitely more powerful over all RPM's.




I also was also very happy with the 1/4 mile @120.6 mph and the 1/2 mile @149.6 mph.



All the other runs were slower but still a lot of fun. It was hot at 90+F so no good air.
I was the only Jaguar in the event and received a lot of comments, mostly that they never see these cars.

I ordered a video this year so will see if I can post it someplace hopefully on the forum when I get it.
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OMG - you guys are insane. I am trying to be a good Buddhist and give that up..

 

It truly is a LOT of fun when you don't have to worry about speed limits!
But it's only a short time on the track for each run. At the end of the run I keep standing on it until I see 180 mph on the speedo. It's a runway so nice and smooth as well as wide and long.

Now I do wonder what the car would run if I ever make it to Bonneville? There you run a 5 mile+ distance so a lot of time to build speed! I went out there but after talking to people and the fact the XJ is mainly Aluminum. I decided against it. Plus the speeds I am running require additional safety stuff at Bonneville like cages and fire suppression systems. That's getting way out there for a street car!

I have a few things that may happen in the future and then I will go back to see if I have improved.
One thing to keep in mind is I don't consider ANYTHING except real documented and calibrated 3rd party measured races as real numbers. All the estimated stuff like Draggy and like are great but don't compare to really racing. Same with Dyno numbers and I have dyno'ed my car and plan to do it again. Too many variables and every operator has a different technique plus many types of Dyno's out there which makes it doubly hard to compare numbers.

Try it and see?

My big regret is no 1/4 mile runs yet as all those tracks are quite a ways from me.
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Wild. Has anyone raced / driven these XJ's on along track like Nurburgring...?

I now see someone has done it...

 

Yup, been driven my one on Alastaro circuit (3km profile) in a free lap day. For a street car it was Ok.
Balance are good and suspension geometry works well in midlle corner shfit over. No surprices there.
The huge torgue of diesel make it feel much smaller than it is on track. Eforthless going.
For longer runs it would need harder brake pads than street one, like any other street car. Also airducts for front disks would help a lot. After some laps my disks were glowing red and i need take my rims for re-painted later because paint took permanent damage by heat.
If you ever plan to go to the track days, change the brake fluid before you go. Boiling point of brake fluid drops in age by hydroscopic and you don´t want find that pedal go to the floor on track.
(i have been racing about 15 years with various race cars in a past and happened to me few times in my career)

 

A guy from the UK forum took his petrol Autobiography around a while back:

 

Thanks for sharing; that was good, and gives me some ideas...

 

And Jaguar provided what they called "Ring Taxi's" for use at Nurburging some time back? A XJR575 and an F-Type were provided.








I never heard what happened to these cars after the race? Sold to the public? Destroyed? Still owned by Jaguar?

If you look close I "believe" there is a white bit of roll bar/cage showing on that XJR? I never did see any interior pictures or hear if the cars were modified? They look like maybe a bit lowered?
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Search "XJ Ring Taxi Dave Lomas" from youtube and you found some videos with passengers.
(no cage inside)

 

There were at least two generations of X351 Ring Taxi: the older one is on display at Gaydon, and turns up at Jaguar meets around the country:

 

Chris, thanks for that - good post. if you are willing to share at all, I'm interested how did your 2010 get written off? How well did the X351 stand up to the accident? There is no accident crash tests on these X351... apologies if a bit off thread..

 

The car in front stopped. I didn't.

The sorry saga is here: The car was an ultra safe place to be for me (no hint of whiplash) and the car in front (barely scratched), but the crumple zones crumpled, the pedestrian protection protected (non-existent) pedestrians, and the repair bill was more than the insurance company wanted to pay. The car was obviously bought as salvage and repaired, as it is back on the road with MoT and Tax, and has been since six months after the incident.

I would say that they are a safe place to be.

In other news, another X351 owner that I know suffered a head on collision at a closing speed of about 90 mph (30 of his, at least 60 of the other bloke) and walked away mostly uninjured (his car was a lot worse than mine had been).

 

Great pictures of the first one. Glad to see they kept it. Now I wonder where and what happened to the second versions?
Interesting that they put an R badge on the front of that SuperSport too. Missing the front tow eye bumper cover plug?

Modifications were fairly minimal. Seats and added a cage.
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So glad you were safe; very impressed you had no whiplash. Unbelievable 2nd video. Just shows how precious life is... and how strong the X351 is. In case anyone is interested, the weight of your car is one of the Top 10 things affecting the length of your life... Best not to be in Miata in that crash.