The 'E' Type Forum

The World's Most Exclusive Car....

INSIDE JAGUAR: MAKING A MILLION POUND CAR...
this programme explores the love of classic cars and what drives men to shell out millions for them. Back at Jaguar, as the Lightweight project gets closer to the deadline and the first delivery, the pressure starts to tell. Can Jaguar create automotive perfection, satisfy their billionaire clients and silence the critics?

28th may.. channel 4, ...9pm.

This porgramme includes a few minutes of Peter Neumark's Linder Nocker car being tested at Anglesey

For someone about to pay in excess of ?1,000,000 I'd have thought they could have managed a better catering option for the buyer viewing his car for the first time than a few sticky buns from the local corner shop.

Having spread the word about this programme, I personally was a bit disappointed with the overall content which tended to focus on these E types as a product and money making commodity. Quote - "The greatest risk Jaguar has undertaken"- unquote. I suppose it natural for me to be a cynic as I was hoping for more on the history of the cars and how they were being built by a small dedicated team, rather than see the new owners "limited edition" Lightweight watch and the suitcase being sprayed to match the finished car.

The focus was on how this investment would open the doors to a new lifestyle and entry to a whole new world of prestige cars. I was particularly interested to hear Lord March's comments on these "replicas" and his view on whether they would be embraced by the classic racing fraternity or permitted to race at historic events. Having met the initial Jaguar team at Pebble Beach in the US at the launch in August 2014 and seen the prototype "new" Lightweight, I was impressed with their result - however the manufacture of the 6 production E types tended to show a large scale corporate attempt of men in brown coats, (complete with Jaguar logos), producing a lifestyle product.

The impression was that the new owner was there to oversee his investment - which would be shortly be parked up as part of his portfolio of cars in a unseen private collection. The fussing over the paint chip on the engine frame or the defect in the red leather used to cover the seats was more show car than being a race car. Still it has raised continued awareness of our cars and as evidenced by the number of people who called me before the programme to say it was on and talking about it at work this morning- more in term of the money involved - rather than the history of the cars themselves.

For those who missed it, I understand it is being repeated tonight, (Friday 29th May) and Saturday (30th May) on the Channel 4 sites, plus the usual catch up channels.

Cheers,

Dave

Hi Dave...so we saw them making the body and the upholstery....but what about everything else.....was it purchased off the shelf, or have they remanufactured everything?..a bit disapointed that they showed more on the naf suitcase than the engine...although you moght need to stop for a picnic....Steve

The engines are off-the-shelf Crossthwaite and Gardiner that anyone with deep enough pockets can buy.

Interesting programme. Funny how Lord March cited that they wouldn't be welcome at Goodwood??

Although he's quite happy to have replica GT40's run at the 2013 Revival?

#23 -- GT40 P/1029 replica -- 1 MUF -- James "Jimi" Cottingham | Andrew Smith

#14 -- M1/10002 Gelscoe replica

While I can understand the car not being invited to race at Goodwood due to not having a racing history or being an original is understandable but to call it a replica is ridiculous. It has been made by Jaguar, has been given the chassis number by Jaguar and is Jaguar's prerogative to build them.
If it was not built by Jaguar then you could call it a replica. What a snooty Lord, whatever his name was to call it a replica, it was not needed and he could have explained why it could not qualify without being derogative and calling it a replica

Gfhug wrote:For someone about to pay in excess of ?1,000,000 I'd have thought they could have managed a better catering option for the buyer viewing his car for the first time than a few sticky buns from the local corner shop.

If I was paying through the nose for a bespoke alloy tub I would want to be sure my money was going into the car, not smoked salmon and quail's eggs. A cup of coffee and a digestive would do me.

Come to think of it. I AM paying through the nose for an alloy tub and during my visits from America Chris's wife Angela offers coffee but no biscuits. I'm content with that. Diff'rent strokes...

Tony wrote:While I can understand the car not being invited to race at Goodwood due to not having a racing history or being an original is understandable but to call it a replica is ridiculous. It has been made by Jaguar, has been given the chassis number by Jaguar and is Jaguar's prerogative to build them.
If it was not built by Jaguar then you could call it a replica. What a snooty Lord, whatever his name was to call it a replica, it was not needed and he could have explained why it could not qualify without being derogative and calling it a replica

While I come to think of it is not chassis No 2 a replica of No 1 and No 3 a replica on number 1 also. So really all car are replicas of the first one built

And they got the side light lenses wrong! Ahh well, a million quid and you can still point, shake your head and give a sharp intake of breath in front of the new owners

Tony wrote:While I come to think of it is not chassis No 2 a replica of No 1 and No 3 a replica on number 1 also. So really all car are replicas of the first one built

Indeed. And Lord Snooty is a mongrel replica of his mum and dad, or should that be 'mater' and 'pater'? :-)

Interesting, isn't it? To you and me it's an eye-wateringly expensive car: to those who can afford the originals, it's a cut-priced and unwelcome attempt to muscle in on the act.

I guess originality is all, and even though any number of 'original' cars in the Goodwood paddock will have been crashed and rebuilt so many times that very little of the actual original car remains, provenance prevails.

As an aside, on SpringWatch the other night they were pointing out that when Damien Hirst's famous 'shark in a tank' was sold some years ago for $8m, the first thing the new owner had to do was throw away the shark, replace it with a freshly-caught new one and refill the tank with fresh formaldehyde. So what's the owner actually bought himself? A tank? Similarly Tracy Emin's 'My Bed' (?2.5m) has been unmade and remade many times now I believe.

Simon, you're right about 'originality'. It's like a Spitfire dug out of a beach where it has lain for 70+ years as an absolute wreck. It gets re-built and is an 'original' Spitfire, one of the very first off the production line. With just about only the data plate being original, the rest being new metal.

And as for Lord Snooty. He must feel it's rather infra-dig to allow the great unwashed (you and me) to his events, except that we pay for him and his gang to play with their toys.

Which reminds me, why did I buy tickets for the Revival? :?

Thats partly why I never go there, far too high-brow and snooty for me, just doesnt sit well but I can appreciate why lots do enjoy the spectacle. Everyone to their own

True, Geoff. I guess we shouldn't be too critical though: to an extent all owners of classic cars benefit from the halo effect of owning an original (no matter how much of it has been subject to a rebuild!)

As Quentin Willson succinctly put it when reviewing the Citroen DS Decapotable recently - The point is this: any Johnny-Come-Lately with a wodge of cash in his pocket can walk into a showroom, write out a cheque, and walk out with the latest supercar du jour. To own a car like this though requires blood, sweat, enthusiasm and, above all, patience...

:D

Tony wrote:While I can understand the car not being invited to race at Goodwood due to not having a racing history or being an original is understandable but to call it a replica is ridiculous. It has been made by Jaguar, has been given the chassis number by Jaguar and is Jaguar's prerogative to build them.
If it was not built by Jaguar then you could call it a replica. What a snooty Lord, whatever his name was to call it a replica, it was not needed and he could have explained why it could not qualify without being derogative and calling it a replica

Unwise comment in the extreme. I recall JLR are very big sponsors of both Festival of Speed and Revival. The comment will haunt him and I would not be surprised to see a qualification. Maybe his Gerald Ratner moment. Google it.

Whilst on the originality note, did anyone else spot on the middle page of the E-Type Club magazine that the Marston data plate was facing the wrong way on chassis 60? I had a little chuckle at that. Unless of course it was like hat "originally" on that car, do correct me if I'm wrong!

Hi Simon...yes you are correct..its shown the other way around in the original photos mag No106 Sept 2013... Steve

As a relative newcomer to the scene watching the programme I could not help but notice that it appeared to be a strictly a commercial venture with a variable price tag of 1.0 , 1.2 0r 1.5 million price tag, who knows what the chosen 6 paid in the end ?

But "hats off" to the guy's on the shop floor who built them & long may they continue !

As for Lord March's comments, replicas ! his place is full of them !!
Yes they have no racing pedigree at the moment but please "give them a break"

If I could have afforded one, I'd like to have been chosen to own one, do we know who the other 5 owners are ?