The impeccably restored Series 2 Roadster rolled off the Browns Lane production line in February 1969

A stunning example of a Coventry-made Jaguar E-Type has been sold at auction for £140,000.

The 1969 Jaguar E-Type Series 2 4.2-litre Roadster went under the hammer at the recent RM Sotheby’s Arizona auction.

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 (Image: Robin Adams/RM Sotheby’s)

Since 1st Sep 2021 E10 petrol has replaced E5 at regular unleaded pumps throughout the UK

What is E10?

E10 stands for 10% Ethanol (E5 is 5% ethanol). In other words, the fuel is 90% petrol and 10% bio-ethanol. Bio-ethanol is ethanol which has been produced from plant matter

Why do we have to have it?

Governments around the world see the addition of bio-ethanol to car fuel as a ‘green’ move because when ethanol burns it produces few harmful emissions, and the CO2 it produces is offset by the CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere when the plants, such as sugar beet, are growing. Optimists regard this as a carbon neutral process, though many arguments exist about the ethics of clearing forest and growing crops for fuel instead of food.

As a fuel what are ethanol’s problems?

Ethanol absorbs water from the atmosphere and effectively dilutes the fuel if left for a long time.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: KWE workshops are open and operating safely!

 

– 05/01/2021

KWE is operating normally during lockdown, though some office staff may be working from home. We welcome all inquiries, and can carry out Condition Assessments and all other restoration work as normal.
Our internal Covid precautions are robust and continuously under review.

– 05/11/2020

KWE will continue to operate normally under lockdown and we are very much open for business. We observe correct Covid-related procedures internally and customers are still welcome to drop off and collect cars, in a similar way to ordinary garages and MoT stations.

– 04/05/2020

Firstly we hope that you and your families are safe and healthy at this time.

We have now received some positive news from our suppliers and we will be re-opening our workshop again on 4th May, 2020.  Initially our workshop will be operating with reduced staffing levels, putting our new safety

The Lynx eventer is an XJS Coupe converted to a shooting brake body style. This was achieved by deleting the buttresses and extending the roof from the B pillars back to the rear light cluster, the Eventer conversion also involved pushing the rear seats backward, elongating the rear quarter trims, relocating the fuel tank, and stiffening the rear suspension due to the change in both front-to-rear weight bias and centre of gravity, adding a rear tailgate (complete with a wiper and washer) and revising the rear seats so they could be folded flat, creating a 6-foot-long boot area.Founded by Guy Black, Chris Keith-Lucas, and Roger Ludgate in 1968, Lynx Engineering began converting the XJS from 1983, they converted 67 XJS over 16 years, 52 pre-facelift and 15 facelifted cars. They converted various engine models including the 5.3 V12, 3.6, 4.0 straight six and THIS one-off 6.1 litre V12 rebuilt and tuned by TWR.Prior to its conversion by Lynx, Tom Walkinshaw Racing received the standard XJS V12 in 1986 with only 342 miles where it was rebuilt to 6.1 litre and tuned to 380bhp by enhancing the original V12 engine and gearbox. In addition, a TWR suspension kit, TWR Power Assisted Steering Valve and TWR JaguarSport 16" Speedline alloy whee [...]

We have written a short article on the importance of fuel cooling and the infamous V12 hot start problem here

Once again we’ve had the pleasure of having Paul Walton of Jaguar World Magazine come to our facilities in Thatcham to test drive one of our latest Jaguar restorations. With the help of Alan, the owner of this awe inspiring machine, Paul has summed up the final product pretty well in the following article that was published in the November 18 issue of Jaguar World. We’re thankful to Alan for giving us the opportunity to restore his beloved XJR-S and wish him many happy adventures in what is now a ‘perfect’ or should I say Purrrfect JaguarSport TWR.

“A thorough restoration by model specialist KWE has resulted in one of the best examples out there.”

Perfect is an overly used word these days. When a waiter asks how our food is, we sometimes answer, “Perfect,” even if it’s not quite there. And when I go on holiday I’ll

We love a good review here at KWE, it’s very encouraging to know we are doing right by these wonderful cars and their owners. This is a recent review from a new customer that decided he wanted to upgrade the handling, ride and all round reliability of his XJ-S Convertible. This work included our full suspension/brakes and steering package, V12 perishable engine service, AC revamp, new convertible hood and also taking care of it’s underside rust and bodywork imperfections, plus other minor issues that needed addressing.

Here’s what David had to say:

“First – thank you for the very professional job that KWE have done on my XJ-S. I feel much more confident about driving it (and stopping it!) after the suspension and braking upgrades.
Similarly I am very happy with all the remedial work you did to the sub-frame which was clearly in rather

Due to the limitations of Insurers in their willingness to pay out, we have to point out that cars on our premises and in our care are covered only to the level of what insurers call ‘Market Value’. This is a vague term open to different interpretations but is usually significantly less than what the owner feels their car is worth. Please read our short article here.

Cars on our premises, or being driven by KWE staff, are insured under our Trade Insurance. Please note this only gives cover up to the "Market Value" of the car, NOT necessarily the replacement or expected value. As is standard in the industry, it is up to the owner to provide their own cover (to include KWE) over this value if required.

We would be very interested to hear - and share - your views, good or bad, about classic car insurers. Our clients want to be able to insure their restored cars for what it cost them and this baffles many insurers who go running for the 'book' and try to fob us off with 'market' value for insurance. Some insurers are more enlightened and we'd be grateful to hear your experiences. Please put any comments in the box below, and we will select the most useful answers and share them here. Thanks in anticipation.

• Jaguar’s 50 years of XJ celebrations begin with bespoke Jaguar Classic commission for Iron Maiden drummer and life-long Jaguar enthusiast ‘Nicko’
• Nicko’s classic 1984 XJ6 Series 3 features a host of custom touches inspired by all five decades of Jaguar XJ production, and McBrain’s heavy metal heritage
• ‘Greatest Hits’ XJ is a collaboration between Nicko, the expert engineers and craftsmen at Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works and Jaguar Design studio director Wayne Burgess
• Bespoke XJ unveiled at Geneva International Motor Show on 6 March during the Jaguar Land Rover press conference

Today at the Geneva Motor Show Jaguar Classic is proud to present Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain’s custom-built ‘Greatest Hits’ Jaguar XJ6, kicking-off Jaguar’s XJ 50th anniversary celebratio [...]