THE 70th anniversary of the Jaguar C-Type will be celebrated in Coventry on Sunday with a special cavalcade.
Around 20 C-types, mostly replicas, will start around 8am close to Browns Lane – the iconic car’s spiritual home – before following part of the route the cars took en-route to Le Mans in 1951.
It will take in Coventry landmarks significant to Jaguar and the C-Type before visiting the city’s Transport Museum for a while and the journeying to a mass gathering at Gaydon.
After an exploratory trip to Le Mans by Jaguar in 1950 with three XK120s, it was realised the company could be successful if weight and aerodynamics issues were addressed.
Engineering director William ‘Bill’ Heynes and the service department manager ‘Lofty’ England persuaded Sir William Lyons to produce a car solely focused on racing and the XK120C was created. The model is known as the ‘C-Type’ with the ‘C’ standing for ‘competition’.
A little over 70 years ago, Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead entered the 19th 24 hours of Le Mans in their Jaguar C-type and that was followed by many more successes.
54 C-Types were eventually completed by Jaguar, with the vast majority being raced.
In salute to these wonderful cars, a large number were re-created by enthusiasts over the years – supported by a strong Replica Industry.
Re-creations of these cars continue to be made to this day – not only built, owned and raced by enthusiasts worldwide but also past and present employees of Jaguar.
Indeed, in celebration of the C-Type 70th Anniversary, Jaguar have recently announced their own C-Type replica/continuations.
This road run also celebrates the strength of the UK Replica Industry – an Industry which contributes greatly to employment and the UK economy.
Sadly, an Industry currently under siege by the very company who has supported and actively encouraged replicas of its cars over the years. It would not have been possible for the Company to produce their own replicas/continuations without the Replica Industry.
Owners of C-Types are invited to join the celebratory run – replicas welcome as well as original cars!
Visit C70.co.uk for more on Sunday’s route and the event.
