I have always admired Jaguar motor cars since I was a small boy but never had the opportunity to own one until I took the plunge in 1992 buying a 1988 XJ6 Saloon in Moorland Green Metallic with Biscuit interior. Since then, I have bought a 1966 XKE Coupe in 2000 and a 2003 XJ Vanden Plas Saloon in 2004. I have a tendency to retain my cars for a long time as I kept these three vehicles for 12, 18 and 14 years respectively.
Fast forward to today and I do not own any of those previous Jaguars but have assembled another trio of Jaguars which I call my ‘Jaguar Royal Family’. Why Royalty? Royalty takes years in the making and my current Jags are no exception and I have named them Elizabeth, Margaret and Diana. Why would I do that?
Elizabeth is a 1950 Jaguar MK V Saloon and her looks can be described as striking, elegant, graceful and oozing with class. Margaret is a 1962 Jaguar Mk 2 saloon with the 3.8 litre and 4 speed with overdrive. This car is definitely a lot racier, somewhat graceful but runs with a faster crowd than Elizabeth (it was the world’s fastest production saloon in 1962). Diana is a 2002 Jaguar XKR convertible. This car is the youngest of the Royal Family, sporty and sexy in looks but still elegant, and represents the newer generation of Jaguars.
How I acquired these vehicles, and their individual stories is the basis for this tale. Strange as it may seem, I acquired these cars in exactly the reverse order of their age.
DIANA JOINS US
We used to have a second home in Palm Springs, California andBecause this car spent all of its time in the California sunshine, I have replaced the convertible top, console cover and the front driver and passenger leather seats. All other maintenance has been of a routine nature. When we sold our home in Palm Springs in 2017, we didn’t An interesting anecdote about Diana is she was built at the Castle Bromwich Jaguar Plant in Birmingham on June 21, 2001. The plant was built in 1939 as the Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory and was the largest producer of all the versions of the Spitfire fighter used during WWII. A little-known fact is the elliptical dash of an XKR pays homage to the wing shape of the Spitfire.
