Jaguar XJ LWB At The Nurburgring

PH gets taken for a ride by the 'fastest PR man in the west' - in a very inappropriate car

Luxury limo plus the Nurburgring - it shouldn't work, but it does

Something about this isn't quite right. I'm sitting in a long-wheelbase Jaguar XJ with a man wearing a checked shirt (the Englishman sort, not the lumberjack sort), a quilted jacket, and who owns a labrador called Sam. This is not how I had pictured my first fast passenger lap around the Nordschleife with a legendary 'Ring hand at the wheel.

Waiting in line...

But all is not what it seems. The Jaguar in question is a long-wheelbase version of the latest Jaguar XJ (which, incidentally, looks better balanced in stretched form) and the be-jacketed chap in the driving seat - Frank Klaas - may be Jaguar's new global director of communications, but he also happens to have participated in the legendary Nurburgring 24-hour race no fewer than 14 times.

This is an unusual CV for a chap on the marketing/PR side of the car business, but it does rather suit Jaguar's recent reinvention of itself as a sportier, younger brand - and dovetails nicely with the company's own development centre based at the Nordschleife.

Any concerns I have over either Frank's or the XJ's suitability for the Nurburgring are dispelled seconds after we hand over our ticket at the barrier where ordinary punters are allowed onto the track, as we accelerate the 503bhp 5.0-litre V8 full-pelt onto the track and seemingly immediately skim past armco with centimetres to spare, then brake over a kerb before pitching it onto the short straight where the original start/finish line is and out onto the circuit.

Soon we're catching and passing various Nurburgring-attack specials, including a couple of modified Skylines, a new-ish 911 and a tarted-up Audi TT. The only thing that could make this more amusing would be to see the expressions on the faces of the drivers as they see us in their rear-view mirrors, furiously flashing our headlights.

...for 13 miles of un-chauffeur-like driving

Frank's lines are smooth yet implacably aggressive (if such a thing is possible), with every inch of Tarmac - and more - being used, but with an eerily smooth, un-flurried style. This is a man, you sense, who could circulate round here with his eyes closed. But then, as well as his experience in racing, Frank is also an instructor for the Scuderia Hanseat - a four-day intense training course at the Nordschleife. If the Nordschleife was a martial art, Frank would have a black belt.

The XJ seems equally at home. Yes, it might weigh close-on two tons and stretch to more than five metres on length, but the XJ is blessed with an agility that seems to belie its size. It hides its kerb weight, as I find out when I get a go after my high-speed passenger run, through a mixture of delicate steering, deliciously controlled damping and an innately neutral handling balance.

Riggers, harried by an MX-5

In fact the only thing to really remind you that you're in a gloriously inappropriate vehicle is the way the brakes begin to go after a few laps - and the eerie silence (although Frank's lap is run with the window open a touch, hence why the video is so noisy).

The appointment of a PR/marketing boss with such a wealth of experience at the Nordschleife as Frank is apt, as the Nurburgring is an important place for Jaguar.

Jaguar has been testing at the 'Ring for two decades and, in 2003, opened a million-euro test centre a literal stone's throw away from the twisty, bumpy, hilly track.

A fast driver. And Riggers

But why is the 'Ring so important for Jaguar? "The Nurburgring offers an ideal location for proving the capability, quality and reliability of a new car or vehicle system," says Phil Talboys, JLR's team leader for European test operations. "All new Jaguars and Land Rovers are put through their paces on the 13-mile Nordschleife circuit with our engineering teams testing and re-testing components, settings and systems, as well as the overall robustness and build quality of a vehicle."

Of course, the Nordschleife isn't the only place Jaguar tests, and the knotty B-roads of Warwickshire and Wales are what give Jaguars - and the XJ is no exception - the ability to soak up bumps in supreme comfort.

strange side effect of this is that the XJ can hop some of the Nordschleife's more vicious kerbs without even blinking, something that the stiff track-prepped wheels of most 'Ring-goers couldn't remotely contemplate - Frank and the Jag float over them with nonchalant ease.

Apart from the link to the 'Ring, it seems an odd fit to put a German in such a senior PR position at such a quintessentially British company but, just like the Nurburgring, Mr Klaas seems to suit Jaguar surprisingly well. More to the point, it's nice to know that Jaguar's public relations are in the hands of such a committed car guy.

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vintageracer01

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