March 2026 | Issue 788 | Page(s) 3 | Gaynor Cauter
Welcome back everyone! While our Team GB athletes are struggling to achieve the medal tally set for them by the UK media, another team has been busy in the snow, far away from the prying eyes of the press… Until now, that is, because as our beautiful front cover shows, Jaguar test and development engineers have been busy in the Arctic Circle, putting X900 through its paces. What a polar bear makes of something that looks like a motorise zebra coming at them is anyone’s guess… but then, they are unlikely to have seen a zebra except in a zoo.
I am grateful to JLR’s Global PR Head, Ken McConomy, for sharing some magnificent shots of the new Jaguar, still heavily camouflaged, as it battles its way through snow and ice in Lapland. You can read Ken’s report in Factory Floor and although he obviously had a lot of fun racing around on a frozen lake, I get the feeling he would have preferred the ice to have been a bit more than 40cm – it doesn’t sound that thick when you consider the weight of a luxury EV and what happens if it cracks.
As you can imagine, we are all busy juggling the usual calendar of events and monthly magazine production with arrangements for the Big Weekend on 11-12 July. And if you are new to the JDC, welcome to our 70th-anniversary year! The booking links are up and running for the hotels, the Saturday night dinner at Oatlands Park and admission to the main event on Sunday at Brooklands Museum. Our Chairman, Tony Merrygold has plenty more news in his report in Club News and, on the following pages, you will find all the booking details, including a QR code to scan for quick access. At the time of writing, I gather the take-up for the dinner on Saturday night alone is close to topping the numbers for the past couple of National Weekends, so book now and make sure you are part of one of the biggest celebrations the JDC has ever held.
I know from experience that July will come around very quickly, but there is still plenty to do in the meantime, starting with the Restoration Show at the NEC on 20-22 March when, amongst other attractions, we will have Tony Bratt on the stand with his D-Type project. Those of you who read Steve Hawke’s Historic Replica and Specials reports will no doubt have read about Tony’s brilliant C-Type build last year and his latest one, rebuilding the D-Type. There is still time to buy your ticket and claim your Club discount – you will find the code on the full-page ad here in Jaguar Drivers.
That’s it from me – I will see some of you at Silverstone on 7 March (with the new van and some of our 70th-anniversary gift items) but, in the meantime, I will leave you with a photo of Ken McConomy, wrapped up against the minus-40° Arctic weather.
Gaynor
