The Jaguar S-Type R (for ‘really quite entertaining’) took an aggressively OK car and gave it the kind of teeth company founder Sir William Lyons would be proud of. Fitted with a glorious 4.2-litre supercharged V8 producing a sniff over 400bhp, you ended up with serious performance in a rather unassuming shell.

This is a straight-line contest between V8s born in different places.

‘MDU 420’ was specified by the actor to include wire wheels and bonnet louvres.

A 1952 Jaguar XK120 Roadster owned by legendary Hollywood actor Clark Gable is heading to auction.

Image: expressandstar.com

We are recruiting for further classic car technicians. Experience in old car repairs and maintenance desirable, especially with electrics knowledge and skills.

This is a rare and wonderful opportunity to join the foremost Jaguar XJ and XJS restoration and upgrade company. Happy, family atmosphere, where everybody gets stuck-in to do the best possible job for our clients. Competitive wages.

Please contact Theresa on 01635 622433

With hot weather slowly arriving, don’t forget that KWE is the foremost XJS aircon specialist. We fully understand and can repair all parts of the system including the early electro-mechanical systems.

No cold air – call us!

KWE is ready to take advance orders for XJS conversions so that we can get the XJS-specific design areas completed. Pricing for top of the range conversions will be under £100k.

We are also ready to convert E Types with very little delay, and other Jaguars such as Mk1/2 and XJ saloons with a bit more design time required. An electric Mk10 anyone? Or even a DS420?

KWE offers the ultimate upgrade for the V12: A six-speed modern automatic transmission conversion! Most 5.3 V12 XJSs had the GM400 3 speed auto transmission fitted as standard. While undoubtedly smooth-shifting and very rugged, this old 70’s ‘box was slow, inefficient and of course was limited to three forward ratios. The later Jaguar 6 litre used the slightly better GM4L80E with electronic shifting, but it was still the GM400 in new clothes.

Here is a fascinating little video of a tyre rotating – from inside the tyre! It demonstrates very well the stresses in the rubber, and is a good visual explanation of why tyres get hot – all that flexing going on with every revolution. For best grip one wants the lowest pressure possibly without over-heating the tyre – though this does increase wear and rolling resistance – and thus mpg.

Gif: Warped Perception

JIM Clark’s former Jaguar D-Type racing car took pride of place after arriving at the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum yesterday, Wednesday March 2023.

Image: Border Telegraph