{"id":16425,"date":"2010-09-24T10:46:08","date_gmt":"2010-09-24T09:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.influx.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=16425"},"modified":"2022-06-22T13:10:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T12:10:57","slug":"first-hand-a-clowder-of-cool-cats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/blog\/first-hand-a-clowder-of-cool-cats\/","title":{"rendered":"First Hand: A Clowder* of Cool Cats"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

My first Jaguar experience took place when I was six years old; for some reason my parents abandoned their penchant for 1970’s Renaults (4, 12 and 16 I seem to recall, but not in numerical order) in favour of something meatier; a Mark 2. After all that Gaelic plastic and leatherette the walnut and cowhide was a revelation. Sadly in the heat wave of 1977 the 2483cc engine gasped it\u2019s last on the A303 outside Sparkford, home of the Haynes Publishing empire. Not even the proximity so many manuals could convince my parents to embark on the mighty repair.<\/p>\n

My latest Jaguar Experience is altogether more thrilling. August 2010 finds me rocketing round Silverstone\u2019s tight Stowe circuit in a 500 BHP XKR coupe; I approach a chicane white-faced with adrenalin. My passenger and professional driver\/guide barks orders \u201cHard on the brakes. Harder! Harder!\u201d Despite his instructions I overcook it\u2026thankfully some clever actuators kick in and traction control saves me from more spectacular embarrassment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m attending a hybrid press\/ revered-Jag-owners event in which punters and journos get to tarnish spanking new motors with their hot and sticky hands. It\u2019s based in the new Stowe Complex, a custom built facility designed for such corporate shindigs,<\/p>\n

Parked outside are over forty box-fresh vehicles; they encompass the entire 2010 range. The goal of these Ian Callum designed cars is to redefine the brand in quest for young consumers. As a result there\u2019s much muscular styling in the body (which both honours Jaguar\u2019s pedigree and is easy on the eye), while inside the gentleman\u2019s club interior of old has been banished in favour of trick design features, club-like interior mood lighting and amazing sound systems.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

That morning I drove a long wheel base XJ (limo plush peppered with clever details) and the 3.0 XF Diesel, (the most glamorous of family cars fitted with Jaguar\u2019s sequential-shift paddle changers)\u2026but the one I really had my eye on was the top cat, the leader of the gang, the \u00a375,000 5-litre V8 XKR.<\/p>\n

A light sprinkle of rain had seen the more experienced drivers begin murmuring words like \u201cgreasy\u201d, but that didn\u2019t stop me donning a helmet and stepping into a gloss red Coupe. The noise was fantastic and although the other cars had been quick enough, this was a whole new league. 0-60mph in 4.6 seconds for starters. The car felt light and nimble and even on the short 1.2 mile circuit it was easy to power past other motors on the track.
\nAs I pass the pits for the umpteenth time my driver\/guide calls, \u201cLast lap\u201d. I blip the paddle shifters down a gear and stand on the throttle. Now the chicane is approaching; the Driver Guide sits silent as I do my level best not to embarrass myself again. \u201cBetter\u201d he mutters as we exit. I can’t really justify how satisfied I felt.<\/p>\n

Funnily enough my day had begun in a Renault. I arrived at Silverstone in the family Megane, if that old adage that we turn into our parents is true, surely that means next-stop big fast Jag?
\n
\n*clowder: the collective noun for cats. No, we didn’t know either. Thank you Wikipedia.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martin Morrisson samples a fleet of new Jaguars at Silverstone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1779,110],"tags":[2840,2003],"class_list":["post-16425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cars","category-blog","tag-ian-callum","tag-jaguar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Hand: A Clowder* of Cool Cats - Influx<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Martin Morrisson samples a fleet of new Jaguars at Silverstone\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adrianflux.co.uk\/influx\/blog\/first-hand-a-clowder-of-cool-cats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Hand: A Clowder* of Cool Cats - 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