Why is it said that the new Jaguar car is 60 years old? Could this be?

English anthropologist Sir Edward Taylor, who studied the behavior of ancient people, proposed the concept of animism. According to his definition, various objects can have a soul, like a person. Of course, several thousand years ago there was no talk of cars, and the presence of the soul, according to the beliefs of our ancestors, is difficult to attribute to cars, but perhaps Sir Edward Tylor and his colleagues would agree that some cars seem to us not just cold pieces of metal , But they seem to be something more. Made of thousands of details working together and generating motion, they amaze our imagination. And some car manufacturers simply make us believe that their creations are endowed with soul. To such concerns and Jaguar.

Impressive classic car

In May 2016, the British automaker announced its plans to produce a small number of machines model XKSS. These cars were incredibly popular in the 1950s, and now they will return to the market. It is reported that the price of such sports cars will be about a million pounds sterling, and this is $ 1,225,500.

Why, in the middle of the last century, were these machines popular? Connoisseurs described them in such a way: sharp, expensive, attracting attention. It was legally used on ordinary roads racing cars. Such a machine, by the way, was in Steve McQueen, and now it costs about $ 30 million. Impressive, is not it?

The last supercar from "Jaguar": why is not he worthy of reincarnation?

In 1992, Jaguar released the latest supercar, the XJ220. But his appearance produced a much less sensation. Observers and professionals criticized the XJ220 for everything: for an insufficiently powerful motor, for the interior, even for a small trunk. In the 1990s, this machine cost about 500 thousand dollars, and now it can be bought for half of this amount.

For the manufacturer to produce a new supercar based on the XJ220 it would be risky and expensive, really expensive. Most likely, if something had gone wrong for some reason, it would have defamed the good name of Jaguar for years to come. Therefore, the appeal to XKSS seems quite natural. The release of a new sports car is not a flashy PR project and not an action with an overly inflated budget. This is the revival of the legendary old machine, which will be produced using the tools and technologies of the 1950s. The new "Jaguar" will be collected manually and conscientiously, as it was done several decades ago.

This is an exciting project, and now it is safe to say that the revived classic car will be endowed with a soul. But, interestingly, initially the British automaker had no plans for the production of the new XKSS. In fact, this idea came to the head of the developers by chance.

Back to the past

Let's return in 2010. The company presents the concept car C-X75. To be more precise, the green light produced by this model was given in 2011. It was planned to produce 250 cars, the cost of each was about $ 1 million. This should lead to the fact that the brand name would be mentioned alongside McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari, who also brought their hybrid concept cars to market. But the model C-X75 was born under an unhappy star. More precisely, unfortunately, was not born at all. In 2012, the world economic crisis broke out and, due to lack of financial resources, the production of the concept car was curtailed.

But later the company made a non-standard decision.

The first release of "old-new" machines

In 2014, was announced the release of six light E-type cars, which would continue the line of cars in 1963. These new machines had to be authentic, as far as this is possible, of course, and their cost should have exceeded one million dollars. Then about a novelty from Jaguar literally started talking: everyone wanted to see a classic car, assembled in the XXI century.

Despite the fact that the release of supercars "according to old patterns" looks attractive, in fact, it is not necessary to spend money on the development of the concept, and there is experience of production, in this respect there are certain difficulties for the automaker. The process of restoring the production technology of the classical model is actually long and time-consuming.

What problems did engineers face in practice?

With regard to the E-type cars from Jaguar, too, everything went not so easy, as the company representatives would like. The original series of the 1960s was not completed. Then only 18 of the planned 18 cars saw the light. The project was frozen for an indefinite period, and it was renewed five decades later. The engineers had old drawings, but there was no exact data on the three-dimensional arrangement of body parts. Then the original E-type cars, preserved till our times, were scanned. Interestingly, there were no two identical copies among them. They all had their own history. Many got into accidents, then they were mended in various workshops, and it all left its imprint on these old cars.

The result of painstaking work

Jaguar engineers did it all: they created new concept cars and gave them a soul. These machines resembled the originals and their technical characteristics, and the exterior. True, there have been significant changes. So, the engines of these cars had a capacity of 340 horsepower and a volume of 3.8 liters.

Such vintage cars, descended from the assembly line already in the new century, impressed connoisseurs. Demand was high, and on this wave the idea arose to develop an updated supercar in the 1950s - XKSS.

History of the XKSS line

The history of the original XKSS was in fact tragic. It was planned to produce 25 such machines, but at the factory at Browns Lane in 1957 a fire broke out and only 16 Jaguars could be saved from the fire. All of them were restored and found their owners.

In 2016, the idea arose to complete the production of this series of supercars. The management of the British concern notes, based on its previous experience of producing such "old-new" models, that now, decades later, engineers have serious advantages. Technical progress does not stand still, and over time there is always the opportunity to correct the shortcomings of older models.

How would you feel at the wheel of an old vintage car?

In fact, not many owners of classic cars use them daily. Why is this happening? It's all about losing the usual comfort: on a car that is already fifty years old, the gearboxes are very noisy, the brakes and suspension are too soft, and it's often impossible to drive at high speed because of the low engine power. And then the owner of the classic model is transplanted to a brand new BMW, and puts his expensive "old lady" in the garage until better times.

But with the new "Jaguar" everything will be different. Comfort and power, according to the representatives of the concern, will be at the level of modern cars, while the exterior will remain stylish and classic, so beloved by true connoisseurs.

Short resume

One can say with confidence that this development of a well-known automotive concern from the UK really deserves attention. The revival of the classic traditions of the automotive industry, a return to the usual and time-tested developments and models is what impresses true connoisseurs of vintage cars. And while the manufacturer does not just revive old cars, it changes them, according to modern concepts of safety and comfort. And, of course, he gives his cars with a story and a soul.