Sample Magazine
If you are not yet a member of the XK Club and would like to get a flavour of what you can expect from the XK Gazette, you can download a digital sample using the button below. This is a selection of 'taster' sections from our recent issues.
You can also see some highlights of our latest offering below.
Full benefits of joining the Club can be found here.
If you require any further information on the XK Club in the meantime, or if would like us to send you a sample hard copy magazine, then please contact our Club Secretary, Sarah, on sarah@xkclub.com or you can call us at the office on +44 (0)1584 781 588.
September's highlights...
Featured Article
Jaguars at the Palace
Steve Beeson reports on another successful visit to the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court
Saturday 31 August, and 32 E-types and 20 XKs gathered at 8:30am in the staging area at Hampton Court. This was by far our biggest turnout, with an extra 10 spaces kindly allocated by the organisers. This was my ninth year organising the show and it seems to get better and better each year. We had seven last-minute ‘swapping’ of tickets, so not too bad, and thanks to the member who gave up their VIP parking ticket to help out Margaret, whose XK wouldn’t start. One frantic owner got stuck on the M3 on the day due to an accident, but made it in the nick of time. Otherwise, the whole show is becoming a bit like a well-oiled machine.
Chris’s Rolls-Royce wasn’t ready after a majorly expensive rebuild, so he brought his XK (Jag reliability trumps RR) and we let one member join us who’d actually secured his place via the JEC because we were at our limit on places.
All was well in the staging area, despite a few spots of rain and some frantic roofs being put up. It turned out to be nothing (unlike the previous Saturday at Silverstone, where you needed Wellington boots), but did give a few people the excuse to do some polishing. Thanks to Anne and Jonathan Mitchell, as always, for handing out the paraphernalia and some nice large stickers for each car to advertise the clubs. Thanks to those who displayed them.
The organisers moved us around this year because the show itself was much bigger, with trade stalls taking over our normal location by the old real-tennis courts. I must admit some of the ‘traders’ were quite a strange choice. I mean, who would come to an event like this with the intention of purchasing a new bed mattress? As for the other trade stands, it was a case of, ‘If you need to ask the price, you can’t afford it!’
The XKs were still in the same location and enjoyed a lot of visitors because they were right next...
Pebble Dash Rewarded
A 1955 Jaguar D-type that had been sold by Fiskens to new owner Mark Haddawy earlier this year, then restored by CKL Developments, won its class at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The rebuild focused on maintaining originality of XKD 526 and was overseen by Mark Hews. It involved sourcing thousands of period photographs in order to rebuild the car to exactly how it would have been when it left the factory. ‘Just six months ago, we took on this D-type restoration with Pebble Beach as the goal,’ said Hews. ‘It felt like a victory just getting the car ready in time, so to win the biggest accolade in the business… We are thrilled.’
Editorial
Friendships made via the club are an important aspect of what we do. Another is attempting to connect current and former
owners of cars. We are always delighted to include attempts to research the history of your car in the Gazette.
Jeremy Wade is one of my oldest and dearest friends. His brother-in-law, Richard Midwinter, is keen to communicate with the current owner of his father’s 120 OTS, a Pastel Green car registered NMA 555, chassis number 660702. We know the car was at our XK70 event at Shelsley Walsh, but do not have the owner’s name. Can anyone help, please?
We are planning to start an emailed newsletter shortly as another means of communicating with members and keeping you informed, and it was splendid to see a number of members, including from overseas, at the recent Goodwood Revival.
Philip Porter