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It’s been a busy few weeks for Paul’s 2000 Jaguar XK8 4.0 X100 having been compared to not one or two but three rivals. Although the 18th century French philosopher and mathematician, the Marquis de Condorcet, once advised to, “Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another,” I still find pitching my XK8 against rivals from the same era to be a fascinating experience.

I was there to witness the Volvo 850 T5-R miracle. A press car appeared in the BBC Pebble Mill car park – where those early-Nineties series of Top Gear were filmed – and Clarkson and I took it for a spin. We ripped through Birmingham, front tyres fighting for grip and out onto the M6, laughing out loud at the amazing, incredible urge. That day we both sensed that this was a seminal moment in Volvo’s history. A break from its sensible heritage with a large helping of Swedish mischief.