Past Events
Event photos, reports and testimonials
We will add our photos here from Club events – along with any reports and reviews from Club members. If you'd like your words or photos to be included in the event gallery, please send them to media@xkclub.com
Donnington Historic Festival
May 2-4 202
A total of 23 different cars attended the Donington Historical Festival between 2nd and 4th May. The festival, this year extended to three days, celebrates the best of historic racing. Pre-war ‘Mad Jack’ racers were in action, along with a wide range of Jaguars, Astons, Ferraris, Cobras and TVRs. XK Representative Cip Nistorica of P&K Thornton was racing a 3.8 litre FHC over the weekend. Alas, Cip’s and the rest of the E-Types were pipped to the post in the Pre 63 GT Race, by Indycar legend Dario Franchitti in a Shelby Cobra 260.
Once again, the organisers kindly allocated the E-Types and XKs a fantastic display location all together on the infield, right in front of the finish line. This allowed plenty of conversation and some great views of the racing. Thanks to all members who came along and made it a memorable weekend.
Anne Mitchell
Spring Meeting South
April 29 2024
Sarah King reports from the club’s annual get-together, which took place in typical British weather
Sunday 28 April dawned cold and soggy as club members (of both E-type and XK flavours) gathered for the annual Spring Meeting at Hartsfield Manor, near Betchworth in Surrey. Despite the rain (and at one point a rather biting wind), we had an excellent turnout, and a very fetching display of cars orchestrated masterfully by Peter, Chris and the WinSpeed team.
It is always a highlight for me to meet up with club members, and this event is always the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends, as well as new faces. I’m just sorry I wasn’t able to get around and properly chat with everyone. There was much admiring of fellow members’ cars and at least three (that I heard of, anyway) thorny technical issues solved by the WinSpeed crew.
Hartsfield is a lovely venue, and Helen and her team looked after us very well – which included providing a delicious (and much remarked upon) lunch. Following that, the hotly anticipated ‘Best E’ and ‘Best XK’ trophies were awarded. These had been chosen by WinSpeed junior engineer Kieran (E) and apprentice Freddy (XK). Jonathan Edwards and Matthew Slaffer were the lucky – and very happy – recipients, for their Dark Blue SI FHC and Pastel Blue XK 120 FHC, respectively.
In almost an action reply of last year’s event, the sun broke through towards the end of lunch, and we hurried outside to enjoy a warmer browse among the cars and some final chats before heading off home. Thank you all, and see you next year!
CBR Restorations Technical Masterclass
April 27 2024
Club Business Administrator, Sam Whittingham, reports on the recent event at CBR Classic Restorations
Despite unseasonal temperatures and a hold-up on the M6, over 35 XK and E-type Club members attended the Technical Masterclass at CBR Classic Restorations in Cheslyn Hay on Saturday 27 April.
Once teas and coffees had been distributed, Andy Waters, CBR’s owner, gave everyone an overview of the company and introduced the CBR team to us all. Andy then identified the four experts who were hosting the sessions: Steve, from HB Body, on detailing; Alan Floyd and Kevin, from CBR, on the English Wheel; Jon and Kris, from CBR, on prep and painting body shop; and Peter, from SNG Barratt, with Andy on Q&A and details of parts.
Louise, from Club HQ, then outlined how the day would proceed, with a briefing on the timings of the sessions and the all-important
lunch break!
Members then split into groups for the first of the sessions, and I had a chance to take photos and observe some of the talks. The wealth of knowledge that everyone was happy to share, and the level of enthusiasm and craftsmanship from all the guys, was great to see. There was a lot of engagement from all parties, with plenty of questions and queries from the Club members to keep the experts on their toes!
I was able to watch sections of some of the sessions, and I was particularly struck by how easy Alan made using the Wheel look, the many years that he has worked to perfect his craft obvious to everyone present. He was happy to let Club members try their hand, and they soon realised it really is not as easy as Alan makes it look.
Peter and Andy’s sessions were very popular, with their many years of experience being tested by a wide range of questions from the
Club members. There seemed to be lots of laughing in the area where Peter and Andy were presenting, and their sessions often ran over, as they both took time to answer the many queries enthusiastically fired their way.
The talks by Jon and Kris in the prep and painting bodyshop area were popular, with plenty of very useful advice for the avid home
restorer. I think that many members will have left feeling more confident in finishing any projects they have lined up to complete. Again, the guys were great at answering questions and dispensed plenty of tips that they have both picked up over the years.
Steve demonstrated his skill at detailing, and drew quite a crowd with his various polishing devices! I overheard one Club member saying that they thought their car was shiny, until they saw the level of detailing at CBR! There was a lot of ‘shine envy’, as everyone admired the finish on the cars in the workshop.
The lunch break came after the first two sessions were completed, each approximately one hour long, and then it was time for everyone to move along to their next session. Once everyone had finished their four sessions, it was time for a quick tea or coffee, and members had the chance to chat to all the CBR team before leaving for home.
This was my first visit to this event, and I really enjoyed it, and admired both the level of skill on display and the level of enthusiasm from the experts on hand during the day, plus of course the Club members. All in all, thoroughly recommended.
CMC Technical Seminar
8 October 2022
The return of our ever-popular Technical Seminar, held in partnership with Classic Motor Cars of Bridgnorth. What we hope will be the first of many to come.
Many thanks to Tim Griffin and his team, our very own Louise who co-hosted with aplomb, Whitehouse Catering for a delicious buffet and attendee Paul Briggs for some of the photos below.