What's all this about?
It's a chance to drive some of the most iconic classic Jaguars from days gone by, courtesy of the car manufacturer's Special Operations (SO) division.
Wow, where is this taking place?
At a purpose-built 200-acre testing facility at Fen End, in Warwickshire.
And what is on offer?
There are a variety of packages available under the catch-all umbrella of the 'Jaguar Heritage Driving Experience'. Among them are more basic programmes, such as the Jaguar Experience (from £95 to £250), which allows you either passenger rides in or drives of selected classics, like the XK150, Mark 2 saloon or the E-Type. You can even compare old with new, such as E-Type versus the current F-Type.
What else can I do?
Dig a bit deeper in the pockets and £750 gives you half a day of driving the two Jaguars that dominated Le Mans in the 1950s - the C- and D-Type cars. This one, unsurprisingly, is called the Le Mans Experience. Or, for £2,000, the Grace and Pace Experience is a full day of driving pretty much any post-war Jaguar, road or track, you fancy, as well as giving you the chance to get behind the wheel of some SO creations. Jaguar will even chauffeur you to a lunch venue in a historic saloon as part of the deal.
Where have all these classic Jags been prior to this?
Most of them were part of a 500-strong British collection owned by a private individual, and Jaguar purchased the lot. The cars have been prepped specially for the work they'll be undertaking at Fen End.
How do I sign up for an experience?
Go to www.jaguarheritagedriving.com, email [email protected] or call 0333 577 0156 to get in on the action. And if you do so quickly enough, you might be one of the lucky few invited to exclusive guided viewings of the 'Perfect Ten' exhibition, which is at Fen End for a limited time only. This is a super-special collection of ten of the rarest Jags you can imagine, including an SS100 and the unique XJ13. Find out how these were selected, and by which luminaries, by watching this video:
Matt Robinson - 23 Oct 2014