Here we are in 2020. The season for shows and events won’t really start until spring so, on Saturday 4th January, as it was a nice, bright and dry day I decided to attend the monthly breakfast meet at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon. Organised by Peter Simpson of the local Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club, we were joined by about 100 other Jaguar enthusiasts.
From Galleywood to Gaydon is exactly 125 miles one way. I started out at 7.30 a.m. and headed south on the A12, then onto the M25 coming off at Junction 16 for the M40. Arriving just before 9.20 a.m., there were a few Jaguars in the car park. The museum and café bar did not open until 10.00 a.m., so there was plenty of time to look over some of the cars parked up outside the entrance and talk to some of the owners.
For those that haven’t yet visited the British Motor Museum, it houses vehicles from British Leyland, Rootes, including Singer and Hillman, and various other Midlands-based motor manufacturers. It also has a ‘new’ museum building which houses Jaguar concept and special cars on the ground floor and Land Rover and other vehicles on the top floor, with the opportunity to see a working workshop from a balcony on the first floor of the building.
The ground floor area, where the Jaguar collection is housed, has some interesting vehicles. Included in this collection is the original prototype of the Jaguar XJ220 6.2 litre V12 AWD. Jaguar enthusiasts will know that the XJ220 was launched with a V6 3.5 litre twin turbo unit, so this is a rare car indeed.
The hall also houses a Project 7 (F Type Special) and a Project 8 (XE Special). The Project 7 was launched in May 2014 and is a collector’s edition sports car with a limited run of just 250 worldwide. At its launch it was the fastest and most powerful production Jaguar ever made, capable of reaching 0–60 in 3.8 seconds, with a top speed of 186 mph. The Project 8 was announced in May 2018 and became the fastest saloon with 600 PS (horsepower) from a 5.0 litre supercharged V8 engine, the most powerful, road-legal Jaguar in history. Only 300 were made for worldwide distribution, all being left-hand drive.
Another fine example on display was a Daimler XJ6 (X300). A single two-door XJ convertible was built in 1996 to commemorate Daimler’s centenary. The concept car, called the Daimler Corsica, was based on the Daimler Double-Six sedan and can seat four.
There were many more Jaguars on display on the ground floor and too many to list here, so I went outside to see more Jaguars arriving for the breakfast meet. There were quite a number of F-Types, both convertibles and coupés, including a number of SVRs.
There were not so many older cars, although there were some Mk II’s and a lovely 1970 XJ6. Another attraction was a Jaguar XJ40 which had a number of modifications – see how low it is.
Finally, if all these pictures haven’t whetted your appetite, my final selection is those of a number of 2006–2015 XK and XKR derivatives . So, if this article has aroused your interest in attending future Breakfast Meets, then the list of future meetings is below.
One other point to bear in mind is that, if you purchase an entry ticket to the museum on the day and elect to agree to ‘gift aid’, for which they only need your name and address, the museum benefits from a further 25% tax allowance against the admission price and your entry pass is valid for a year.
Dates for 2020 ‘breakfast meets’, all on Saturdays at The British Motor Museum except where stated otherwise:
- 1 February
- 7 March
- 4 April
- Sunday 19 April at RAF Cosford, Shropshire
- 2 May
- Sunday 24 May at Denbies Winery, London Rd, Dorking RH5 6AA
- 6 June at Jaguar Classic Works, Coventry
- 28 June at “Simply Jaguar” Beaulieu
- 4 July
- 1 August
- 5 September
- 6 September at “Jaguars at the Castle”,Warwick
- 3rd October
- 7th November
- 5th December
Doug Warren
