BLESSED BY JIM RANDLE

Letitia Mace
Jul 29
4 min read

XJ40 30th Anniversary at Dunkeld

On the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2016, we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the launch of the XJ40 at Dunkeld, Scotland – the location of the original press launch in September 1986.

Eight key people connected with Project XJ40 were invited to the celebration:

Jim Randle – Jaguar's Director of Engineering, responsible for bringing Project XJ40 to fruition and famed for the "Randle Handle", which became a recognised feature of all automatic XJ saloons from 1986 to 2009, as well as the S-Type and most X-Types.
Peter Taylor – Jaguar's Manager of Special Vehicle Preparation (Press Cars) at the time of the 1986 launch.
Ed Abbott – Principal Engineer, Vehicle Proving during the XJ40 programme and now owner of Abbott Jaguar.
Howard Hunt – XJ40 Launch Co-ordinator, who also planned the original press launch routes and later became affectionately known as "The Jaguar Route Man."
Ann Hunt (née Masterson) – Reception Manager at Dunkeld House Hotel during the original launch. Howard and Ann famously met during the event and later married in 1988.
Paul Skilleter – Jaguar historian, journalist and founder of Jaguar World magazine.
David Marks – Owner of the pre-production prototype XJ40, D38 BRW.
Jonathan Partridge – Representing Jaguar Heritage, who brought two Heritage XJ40s to the anniversary, including E604 JJU, which I would later purchase.

The event attracted 38 XJ40s from across Europe, all presented in exceptional condition.

Arriving at Dunkeld

My partner, Rob Jenner, and I share a passion for the XJ40 - it is, in fact, how we met. Naturally, this was an event we had been looking forward to for a very long time.

From our small collection we chose to bring my 1988 3.6 Sovereign, affectionately known as Opium, alongside Rob's 1993 Daimler Majestic Insignia.

The organisation was outstanding. Very little had changed at Dunkeld House Hotel over the previous 30 years, allowing the anniversary cars to be displayed exactly where the original press cars had stood in 1986.

Each arrival received an information pack before preparing their XJ40 for the weekend's celebrations.

Sunday

The Garden Room, where the original XJ40 press briefings had taken place in 1986, was once again at the centre of proceedings.

Guests enjoyed an exhibition curated by Paul Skilleter before an official welcome, followed by dinner and evening presentations covering the history, development, launch and marketing of the XJ40.

Monday – The Commemorative Drive

Monday centred around the Jaguar XJ40 30th Anniversary Commemorative Drive, closely following the original 1986 press launch route researched by Howard and Ann Hunt.

Each participant received a professionally produced route book featuring tulip navigation instructions, participant lists, historical information and archive photographs from the original launch.

The drive created memories that Rob and I will never forget.

During the route, my 28-year-old XJ40 reached 40,000 miles, with none other than Jim Randle taking the wheel for part of the journey. Afterwards he also drove Rob's Daimler Majestic Insignia back to the hotel, proving—with some enthusiasm—that the long-wheelbase Majestic could corner remarkably well at speed!

Judging

Upon returning to Dunkeld House, judging began.

The panel consisted of:

Jim Randle
Paul Skilleter
Ed Abbott
Howard and Ann Hunt
Jonathan Partridge

Together they selected what they believed to be the finest XJ40 attending the anniversary.

Gala Dinner

That evening's Gala Dinner featured tables named after the key figures involved in Project XJ40.

Rob and I were honoured to sit at the Sir John Egan table, with Rob also invited to present the awards.

Special awards recognised owners who had travelled the furthest, overcome significant challenges to attend, and those whose ideas had helped create the anniversary event itself.

The Winning Car

As the awards were announced in reverse order, I quietly hoped Opium might receive a commendation.

Nothing.

Perhaps a place in the top three?

Third...

Not Opium.

Second...

Still not Opium.

Finally, Rob paused dramatically before announcing the registration number of the winner.

"E264..."

Without thinking, I finished the number aloud.

"OMP!"

I was absolutely astonished.

After waiting so many years to own this XJ40, she had not only been driven by Jim Randle, but had also been voted Car of the Show at the official 30th Anniversary celebration of the XJ40.

One More Surprise

As Rob sat down, Jim Randle stood to present one final award.

He awarded Rob Jenner a Lifetime Award for Services to the XJ40.

Both of us were completely speechless.

Rob has long been regarded as something of an XJ40 guru, and his knowledge of the model is one of the reasons we first met.

Could the weekend possibly have been any more special?

Final Thoughts

The event was a tremendous success and perfectly celebrated one of Jaguar's most important models.

Perhaps the greatest testament came afterwards:

Paul Skilleter was inspired to buy another XJ40.
I subsequently purchased E604 JJU from the Jaguar Heritage Collection - the very same car that had attended the anniversary.