Jaguars open the Festival of Speed in style

Jaguar has celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the E-type in style on the first day of the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
 
In glorious sunshine, examples of Jaguars from the past and present took to the notorious Goodwood Hill, with the new XKR-S, XKR and XFR all in action.  The XKR-S, driven by Mike Cross, Head of Vehicle Integrity, Jaguar Cars, proved a hit with the estimated 48,000 strong crowds, making a dramatic run up the hill as Mike demonstrated the capabilities of the vehicle with some sideways antics.
 
Appropriately, a very special E-type took to the Hill in the form of the Group 44 race car – adding drama to the occasion through a mix of its rapid pace and unsilenced exhausts.  It was joined by examples of the D-type, XJ13 and XK140 from the Jaguar Heritage Collection.
 
Towering over the event was the sculpture of the E-type produced by artist Gerry Judah.  Measuring 28-metres in height and weighing a substantial 150-tonnes, the sculpture provided a striking centrepiece to Jaguar's sponsorship of the event.
 
Elsewhere the dramatic C-X75 concept was on static display on the Jaguar stand alongside examples of every new Jaguar on sale, including the new XF 2.2 which recently drove from the Jaguar production line in Castle Bromwich to Munich, a distance of 816-miles, on a single tank of fuel.
 
The Goodwood Festival of Speed, now in its 19th year, has proved a sustained success – the 2011 running of the event expected to draw the biggest crowds yet with an estimated 180,000 people attending between Thursday June 30 and Sunday July 3.