Just picked up the car in London and drove it back to Geneva today.

Hit 160MPH/257KPH indicated with no hint of the Limiter when the traffic picked up and ended the top speed run.

The upshift at 135MPH from 5th to 6th gear was worth the price of admission by itself.

I noticed that the Speedo was optimistic by about 1.5% so figure I was somewhere around 157-158MPH

But as with all things relative slowing down to 100MPH/160KPH seemed pretty pedestrian and I found myself creeping back up to 110-120MPH/177-193KPH so set the cruise control for 90MPH/145KPH.

Great cruise control, sets speed exactly where you set it with no hesitation or drop in speed and even downshifts to keep the speed constant on hills where most cars just bog down and slow down until you get over the hill.

However I am happy to report that I have finally removed that bitter taste from my mouth when I discovered circa 1968 when I 'borrowed' one of my father's shop '66 XKE's that in truth they would only do 120MPH despite the 160MPH speedo markings the very first time I drove on the freeway by myself...a couple of years before I was old enough to get a license.


Did the whole trip today in 10 hours including the Chunnel Train, drive on drive off, takes 35 minutes but you have to wait up to an hour to get on the train. 990KM or 615 miles, averaged 90MPH/145KPH on the road and 24MPG, amazing

Car performed brilliantly and is the quietest convertible I have ever driven at speed. Quieter even than our hardtop Mini and maybe even the Volvo.

The color and the styling make it a moving sculpture.

Two minor glitches:

Hazard switch was frozen in the on position when I used it at the toll booth.

Had to drive 25 miles with the Hazard lights on to get home.

A close reading of the Fuse Charts did not reveal a fuse number that would disable the Hazard Flashers so I checked the forum, which indicated that the heat from the switch panel illuminations occasionally cause the Hazard switch to 'freeze' in the on position. No amount of pushing the button would release it. They were of course still flashing while I looked for a solution in the manual and on the forum.

In the mean time my Italian Super Model wife chirped that she had turned the flashers off for me. "I just pushed the button and they went off."

"Thank you dear" was the only response possible in the circumstances.

Item two.

After my wife 'pushed the button' for the hazard lights I took it down the street and noticed that the Sport button light would not come on nor would the Sport settings engage.

Any ideas out there about that one?


Very Happy New Owner,

jamjax

 

So that is still 155 or less in real speed. Didnt you use your gps or phone to measure the actual speed?

 

Hey there Jamjax and welcome to the site, good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums.com.....nice intro btw You'll be made very welcome here

Please post pics of your ride when you can .....

Hope we can help with any issues / questions you may have

 

WE NEED PICS!!!



Pics of the car would be nice, too.

 

Could even get to about 170mph before I hit the limiter on my car, I think someone at Jaguar accidentally made a typo in the code ;-).

 

Jochem00

Just out of curiosity what is the fastest you have ever been able to drive in Monaco?

40kph?

You are welcome to fiddle around with your second GPS at 160MPH but I was looking for the Gendarmes.

Next time.

Will have to be a Sunday since heavy trucks are not permitted on the Autoroute on Sundays....makes for very pleasant and not very busy driving. If you haven't driven over here it is hard to believe how much open space with no cities, towns or even villages there are here.... saw only two police cars in 600 miles and no cities once I got out of London.

Rev:

Pictures to follow after I clean the bugs off the front end and the windscreen though I have not had much luck uploading any photos on this site

I also have to thank you again for measuring your car for me because the crated stained glass window did indeed fit in the trunk/boot by resting it just above the plastic covers of the rear lights and angling it into the depression under the back edge of the trunk behind the bulkhead of the rear seats.

Suitcase went in the rear seat with the case of Christmas Mince Meat tarts and HP steak sauce. Those sound like they go together but in fact there is no meat in modern MM Tarts....they are sweet with fruits and a tart sauce with a bit of ginger and nutmeg I think...very tasty and reminds me of my grandmother every time I eat them.

thanks

JimC;

Thanks I have been getting help from the forum since early October when I committed to finding and buying an XKR and have to say thanks to everyone for steering me past a 2000 XKR and getting me up to the 2003 model evolution with the 4.2 engine and 6 speed transmission to avoid the early model 'teething' problems.

PS I can read the T-shirt. Please send directions to her room.

I looked for her when I passed through Glasgow on my way to Oban this summer but some how completely missed her.

cheers,

jj

 

Nice review, thanks for posting . However, when driving that fast please be all eyes and watch out and make sure your tires pressure is OK

 

In Monaco about 180 km/h
Outside monaco far above 230 but have to keep an eye on the corners and tunnels
Germany 300 + km/h

 

J00;

Where in Monaco can you hit 180kph?

Every time I have been there I am lucky to get to 40kph.

You must know a short cut.....

You have a 2001 XKR that will do over 300kph/186mph?

What have you done to it?

And yes that drive from Ventimiglia along the Ligurian Sea through the tunnels and over the bridges is one of the most spectacular drives in the world.

A guy in a Bentley GT drove away from me through there when I was in a BMW 535 over 200kph/125mph a couple of years ago.

One of my old hang outs is Roquebrune.

cheers,

jj

 

Lol, I was just thinking that. Wouldn't you cross the entire country in about 4.5 seconds at that speed?

 

Maybe these guys get close?

 

they go faster, but the tunnel going out of Monaco towards the moyenne corniche is quite long and nobody bothers you in there.
but make sure you do 50 when you reach the end of it.

 

You guys are killing me! I can just see me maintaning those speeds on a trip to Atlanta. " Oh me Mr. Officer sir---I was going how fast on I-85?---geez, I was just testing out my cruise control---ha ha ha. By the way the cruise control on these cars is the best.

 

V12; Thanks for the concern and I do try to be careful and check out any car before I wind it up.

Just be sure your girlfriend, Miss Oxide, is not out distracting me and I should be fine.

Which reminds me that Stirling Moss used to comment about specific girls lining the track when he was racing. How he had time to check them out and drive that fast explains why I am not in Formula one.

J00: That is bloody fast in a tunnel that curves the entire length of it and you can't see what is ahead of you.

But what where you driving when you hit 300kph/186mph driving in Germany which is not easy with their nearly continuous high traffic density and VW Golfs always trying to pass you no matter what.

Frog;

Come on down and we can take turns buzzing the Casino at 20kph.

MCat: Back in the day when the Feds had lowered the national speed limit to 55mph, thank you Mr. Nixon, the California Highway Patrol didn't have radar and had to clock you by pacing you.

I used to get pulled over when I was doing 100-120mph and they always said "I clocked you doing 65" I would ask are you sure officer? Since as they say in law it is not an affirmative defense to claim they are full of BS by telling them you were going a lot faster I would belt up and take my medicine....

I always slowed down gradually when I saw them back there so they could never get an accurate clock on me. They were easy to spot since they would be the only other car passing cars as fast or faster then me.

The French are very civilized about speed cameras and only put them up in bad accident zones with big signs right before the camera. Makes it a bit more sporting than either the UK or Switzerland, sadly Italy is trending towards those two countries now as well.

That is not to say the French don't have radar traps but they are side of the road hand helds and the opposing traffic is very good about flashing their lights to let you know.

And as I say the police presence on the Autoroutes are nearly non existent.

Come see us for some high speed runs but you must have fun in the mountains around Ashville.

cheers,

jj

 

yes it is that tunnel that curves continuously to the left. I'm out of the country at the moment but might do a video of the tunnel in 2 weeks time.

My dad has some cars in Holland and one of them is a Murcialago but I've driven cars like an F40 in the past which is by the way by far the most sensational car I've ever driven.

I've also lived in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the past and it is only until recently that you could drive as fast as you want overthere. Still possible here and there between Al Ain and Abu Dhabi if you ever go overthere. then buy, rent, of test drive a Porsche or Lamborghine and blast the hell out of it.

 

J00;

Sounds fun.... but really I believe you and would rather you didn't complicate that tunnel by holding a camera in it.

Isn't that tunnel two way?

Have driven many fast cars in my time but the F40 and the Murcilago are above my pay grade.

Haven't made it to Dubai yet but have heard about the drag racing they used to do over there.

enjoy and drive safely
Better to brag a lot than crash a little.

cheers,

jj

 

No the tunnel going up is two lane one way.

By the way the dragrace with the topfuels is absolutely awesome. Never seen such a thing in my life.
The dragstars with say 4000 hp are just slow compared to the topfuel

Do a youtube on topfuel yas marina
500 km/h in 5 seconds if I remember well

 

I would like to disable the speed limit, but don't know how.

I live in Savona, about 140km close to Monaco (less than 1 hour by XKR), why don't we meet all together?

 

If the button was not used by the previous owner, the contacts just may be a bit oxidized. Try excerising the button a couple of dozen times and see if it starts working. In the states, they also sell 'TV tuner cleaner' which is an aerosol contact cleaner and lubricant...sometimes a spray of that in a switch is all you need if can find the equivalent.

 

I'm envious of you guys accross the pond. Here in New Jersey I feel it's an acomplishment just to do 10 mph over the posted speed limit. With the torn up roads, left lane richards, quota hungry cops, texting on cell phones arriving at your destination in one piece is all you can ask for.