Jaguar World Magazine Jaguar World September 2013 Back Issue

It's hard to believe the Goodwood Festival of Speed is 20 years old. It doesn't seem any time at all since I attended my first, way back in 1994. With all those glorious machines on display, I was hooked from the start and remain so to this day. Jaguar too has been a strong supporter of the event, regularly taking along a large display of vehicles both new and old. I've been fortunate enough to drive a number of these up the hill climb over the years, and one of my most memorable experiences was in 2003 when, as part of the super-car class, I drove a then-new X350 XJR. Surrounded by every super-car that was currently on sale, the four-door saloon looked a little out
of place. Until we reached the track that is. With 400bhp, the aluminium car left the start line with the same enthusiasm as the Pagani Zonda that had been in front me and I climbed the hill rapidly yet comfortably. Yet over the past 25 years the XJR has been on sale, this has always been the car's
ethos: discreet yet luxurious performance. Our feature on page 30 where we've gathered together an example of each of the first four generations to celebrate the XJR's quarter century illustrates
this. The first XJR may have been very different from the last but the same string of DNA is clear. As it is with next year's XJR, which made its dynamic debut at the 2013 Festival. Again, one of the few saloons in the super-car run, it clearly had the confidence of a two-seater sports car. As the Festival of Speed shows, some things just get better with age.