Most convincing and powerful testament to date on the heritage and DNA of our XK.
He is uniquely qualified to be an authority, he has been a hands on aficionado of Jaguar, but more importantly everything else.
Its educational and heartwarming that so much of the XK formula that he liked is still used in the last XK.

 

What a superb video - thanks Q&C for posting. He really loves that car - one of my all time favourites, and the reason I bought my XKR. I was a young boy in the 1950's, growing up in a less than affluent part of Birmingham. I don't remember seeing any other 'exotics' other than the occasional XK in the posher suburbs like Sutton or Solihull, so they really made a lasting impression. Nearest my dad got to a sports car was an 18 year old (or thereabouts, probably manufactured around 1936) Triumph Gloria saloon which I remember thinking, at the time, was brilliant.

I've not seen any of the other Jay Leno video's - he comes across very well; not pretentious, just natural and very knowledgeable. I must have a look at some of his others.

 

Sighs...back in the early '80's had to make a choice: a '68 E-Type or an XK120. The "E" won out and was totally enjoyed for almost a decade until I lost my storage space. That third-gear torque was totally enjoyed. Car ultimately was sent to Norway for a total resto by the new owner. I think often of "what if I had chosen the 120 over the 'E'?". Great video, but don't like the updated ignition system (purist at heart) and the other mods. Can see why though - the electrics were always finickey...oh, but those beautiful Smiths gauges...

 

Mr. Leno is a true enthusiast who enjoys driving the cars of his collection. He is very approachable and quite friendly. I saw him Sunday at the Best of Italy/France Car Show (see the post about that show with pictures of Jay and his crazy Fiat).

 

You must. You hit it square on the head in citing the single thing that makes him a one of the greatest car aficionados of all time; uniquely unpretentious. Others consider themselves qualified to review because they may have driven the car for a week, without knowing the first thing about mechanicals or manufacturing. That XK120 for example, he has owned for over 30 years, knows every mechanical detail, hired the top Jaguar mechanics, owns a machine shop and more crucially owns the competition.

 

I clicked on that video because I thought it was Sir Roger Moore's car. He had one identical.

 

Living in the San Fernando Valley, you occasionally see Jay driving through the streets in one of his cars (as they are housed here near the studios). I passed him a few months ago broken down on Coldwater Canyon in his Ford Galaxie waiting for his tow truck. I've seen him at many car shows and events and at an automotive book store in Burbank several times. When he bought a Pantera a couple of years ago,and then did the video, he had the foremost expert in that community talking about the intricacies of the Pantera for about 30 minutes, informative even to those of us that have had them for years. Just an all around car guy.

 

One point Jay didn't make in this video is when Jaguar had the XK120 and the XK140, other 'sports' cars such as Porsche had only 60 or 70 horsepower. The wonderful XK engine combined with disc brakes made Jaguar dominant at LeMans.

If Jaguar hadn't been swallowed up into British Leyland in the 1960s, one can only imagine where the marque would have been by now.

 

Part 2 of that video.

 

I'll take an XK120 over an E Type. I just like the lines of the XK more.

 

That's cool. I always liked Mr. Leno. I love his video series. Just a cool, down to earth guy who likes to shoot the **** about cars and bikes.

 

I ran into Jay Leno years ago, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, before he got the Tonight Show. We were both coming into the casino from one of the outdoor people movers and I called out to him and he was totally cool. We stood there overlooking the casino and just shot the breeze for several minutes. He was headlining in the Circus Maximus showroom that week, and was in a hurry to get down there, but he still made time for some dopey guy who flagged him down just to chat. And now we both own Jaguars. Life is good.