Jaguar XK8 25TH Anniversary

For their September meet, the Jaguar Breakfast Club joined forces with the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust (JDHT) to host the now annual ‘Jaguars at Gaydon’, the largest dedicated Jaguar meet to be staged at the British Motor Museum, although ‘breakfast’ came and went with the event continuing in full swing until 4pm! Over 750 Jaguars arrived to create the spectacle including an astonishing 500 XKs that created a dedicated display to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the model and demonstrate its transition to ‘Classic’ status.

‘Jaguars at Gaydon’ also welcomed all models and that’s certainly what was seen with classic and modern Jaguars in equal abundance, including fifty XJSs which formed an impressive line spanning the grass bank above the main show arena. In that area, owners of XKs with interesting stories to tell were interviewed and the JDHT brought out some rarely seen examples from their collection. Including a fascinating XK8 mechanical prototype dating back to 1993, still heavily clad in fibreglass and foam from its role as a test mule for air-conditioning development. The arena also saw JDHT cars from across the eras to remember Sir William Lyons whose 120th birthday coincided with the day of the event. A huge cake was baked especially for the occasion and devoured with delight by all who visited the JDHT stand. There was musical entertainment throughout the day featuring a selection of vintage hits from Sir William Lyons’ golden age of SS cars and Jaguar.

The Jaguar Breakfast Club is generally held on the first Saturday of every month and for further details please visit: www.jaguarbreakfastclub.org.uk

Probably the largest-ever gathering of XK8/R models in one place. Period entertainment and a period sound van would have kept William Lyons’ foot tapping. The XJS Club also held their National Day as part of the event. Sinister camouflage disguised the prototype X100.