Life with an XJ220
Discussion
I go away for a few days and suddenly this thread goes from an excellent opening chapter to a pacey thriller with a twist on every page!
Glad you signed up to tell us more, Phil.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of your Germans, and whatever other stunning rare cars you have stashed around the world
Glad you signed up to tell us more, Phil.
Looking forward to seeing the rest of your Germans, and whatever other stunning rare cars you have stashed around the world
I've been silently but excitedly following this thread. An XJ220 really is a thing of beauty, and whilst not achievable, is more achievable than other, to my mind less desirable uber-supercars. If I could, I would.
Also Phil, you come across as a bloody reasonable, nice bloke. That is encouraging and somehow makes the dream seem closer to reality. Even though short of a lottery type windfall, it's not. Love the camper too.
Hope this becomes a long running thread and thanks in advance for making it so.
Also Phil, you come across as a bloody reasonable, nice bloke. That is encouraging and somehow makes the dream seem closer to reality. Even though short of a lottery type windfall, it's not. Love the camper too.
Hope this becomes a long running thread and thanks in advance for making it so.
kingkongsfinger said:
That sir, is a thing of beauty. The feeling of being 15 years old again with "that" picture on my bedroom wall is so real.
Bloody brilliant. Thank you.
That's obviously the prototype Bloody brilliant. Thank you.
I saw it at Gaydon last month. Along with the first production model The inlet trumps on the prototype look absolutely fantastic from the front. And the whole car is just sensational.
Thanks very much for sharing this thread; the colour just takes it to another level.
Tell me, OP, do you need a mechanical engineer/diesel man in Dubai...!?
TheLordJohn said:
That's obviously the prototype I saw it at Gaydon last month. Along with the first production model
The inlet trumps on the prototype look absolutely fantastic from the front. And the whole car is just sensational.
Thanks very much for sharing this thread; the colour just takes it to another level.
Tell me, OP, do you need a mechanical engineer/diesel man in Dubai...!?
The one that ended up with the big 12 in the back. I saw it at Gaydon last month. Along with the first production model The inlet trumps on the prototype look absolutely fantastic from the front. And the whole car is just sensational.
Thanks very much for sharing this thread; the colour just takes it to another level.
Tell me, OP, do you need a mechanical engineer/diesel man in Dubai...!?
Toma500 said:
I have seen either this car or one very like it driving on the A19 nr hartlepool i tried following for a while in my Tvr Griffith .
Beautiful car but i was surprised at how massive they are ,must be a bit of a handful on smaller roads .Made a fine racket when the owner tired of me giving it the eye and fooked off at warp speed toward peterlee . Red letter spot for me .
I feel as though the one you spotted towards Hartlepool could have been one of these two. The Silver one I've seen twice at shoes in Ripon and the Blue one at Raby Castle.Beautiful car but i was surprised at how massive they are ,must be a bit of a handful on smaller roads .Made a fine racket when the owner tired of me giving it the eye and fooked off at warp speed toward peterlee . Red letter spot for me .
I too would buy one of these as soon as I win the lotto - It will be a challenge getting it road registered here in Australia though!
When I was a child our local dealer (Merritts in Amersham, Bucks) had one in the showroom for a few weeks prior to delivery to a customer. There's a photo of me somewhere standing alongside with my Dennis the Menace jumper on looking so pleased.
I was rather XJ220 obsessed - Poster, pencil tin, Airfix model, diecast model, Amiga computer game and more!
Fast forward a few years to Top Gear Live at the NEC circa 2010. In the Live Action Arena they bought out a series of new Vs. old cars for drag races including an XJ220 and XJR. The young lads around me must have been late teens or early 20's and had no clue what the XJ220 was which, made me feel rather sad (and old!). Needless to say the old girl wiped the floor with the XJR and my smile was restored!
When I was a child our local dealer (Merritts in Amersham, Bucks) had one in the showroom for a few weeks prior to delivery to a customer. There's a photo of me somewhere standing alongside with my Dennis the Menace jumper on looking so pleased.
I was rather XJ220 obsessed - Poster, pencil tin, Airfix model, diecast model, Amiga computer game and more!
Fast forward a few years to Top Gear Live at the NEC circa 2010. In the Live Action Arena they bought out a series of new Vs. old cars for drag races including an XJ220 and XJR. The young lads around me must have been late teens or early 20's and had no clue what the XJ220 was which, made me feel rather sad (and old!). Needless to say the old girl wiped the floor with the XJR and my smile was restored!
TheLordJohn said:
On a serious note OP, how did you get into working in the Middle East?
I spent a huge chunk of my childhood over here with my parents (an expat brat as such), starting in Saudi as a five week old petrol head. Fast forward beyond A-Levels and Degree stress, I hunted work to get me back. My Father by this time was on his own and was playing the mercenary travelling between the likes of Algeria, Libya, KSA and the UAE. At the time the UAE was becoming the hub of all things automotive across the region and after trying every avenue I could find, I landed a gig in the early 2000's. Oddly by that time, he had returned to the UK, however it didn't take him long to come back and play the consummate Grand Dad to my boys. I broke out of the formal corporate world 7yrs ago now but still work within the automotive landscape with work stretching across the region as a whole, along with the USA.I stick around because I love the life, the culture, the friends I've made and of course the weather.
RS_Phil said:
I spent a huge chunk of my childhood over here with my parents (an expat brat as such), starting in Saudi as a five week old petrol head. Fast forward beyond A-Levels and Degree stress, I hunted work to get me back. My Father by this time was on his own and was playing the mercenary travelling between the likes of Algeria, Libya, KSA and the UAE. At the time the UAE was becoming the hub of all things automotive across the region and after trying every avenue I could find, I landed a gig in the early 2000's. Oddly by that time, he had returned to the UK, however it didn't take him long to come back and play the consummate Grand Dad to my boys. I broke out of the formal corporate world 7yrs ago now but still work within the automotive landscape with work stretching across the region as a whole, along with the USA.
I stick around because I love the life, the culture, the friends I've made and of course the weather.
Thanks for the comprehensive response I stick around because I love the life, the culture, the friends I've made and of course the weather.
Going to trot off and look for some sort of diesel mechanic/mechanical engineer role out there...!
These are fantastic cars but were always overshadowed by the F1. I remember a short while after I'd passed my test going out for a drive on a quiet Sunday morning and ending up at some traffic lights on the dual carriageway alongside a nice silver one, me being in the right-hand lane in a K11 1.0l Micra. Lights turned to green and I gunned it and was ahead for 4 or 5 seconds before the Jag hooked up and then disappeared into the distance like a scalded jaguar. Very impressive!
Chris
Chris
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