Jaguar World – July 2019

82 |JaguarWorld/July 2019

OURJAGUARS|PAULWALTON

W

HATAfabulousdaySunday

12 Mayhasturnedoutto

beformydrivetoBlenheim

PalaceandtheJEC’sJaguarFestival.The

roadsareempty,thesunisshiningand

IhaveaV8-enginedcoupeinthegarage.

Everythingisperfectnow,butitwasn’t

thatwayyesterday;18hoursbeforethe

event,saidV8-enginedcouperefusesto

start,thebatteryflatterthanroadkill.

EventhoughIhadputthecaroncharge

afewdaysearlier,ithasn’thelped.Iresort

tojump-startingthebiggreencoupeoffmy

NissanPathfinder,theSUV’shugebattery

beingpowerfulenoughtoeasilycrankthe

Jaguar’sdeadV8intolife.Iheadoffforan

hour-longdrivetoputsomechargeback

intothebatteryandafterwardscheckthat

Icanrestarttheengine.Thesilencecoming

fromunderthebonnetisdeafening.

SoIcalltheAA.Bearinginmindwhat

Idoforaliving,thisisasembarrassingas

asurgeongoingtoaGPwithapapercut.

stretchitslegsagainontheemptyroads.

HavingdrivenmyX-TYPEmorethanthe

XK8recently[seeJWMayandJune 2019 ],

I’dforgottenhoweasilythefive-speed’box

kicksdowntoreleaseadelicioussurgeof

power.Itmighthaveamere290bhp–a

dropintheoceancomparedtothe500bhp-

plusoflaterV8Jaguars–butitstillfeels

quick,andcruisescomfortablyat70mph.

Twohourslater,Ijointhelonglineof

Jaguarsweavingitswaythroughthe

palace’sgrounds,therouteofferingfabulous

viewsofthebighouseinthedistance.

Ieventuallyparkbetweenapairof

beautifulX350XJs,theirgleamingpaint

puttingmycar’scovered-in-garage-dust-

and-more-dead-flies-than-a-reptile-house-

looktoshame.Nevermind,I’mhereand

it’ssettobeagreatday.

It’sfuntocatchupwithmanyofour

formerfeaturecars,includingthemachine

gun-equippedXKRfromDieAnotherDay

(December 2015 ),theXJ220Icompared

againstanF-TYPESVR(September 2017 )

andtheXJ-SCabrioletBurberry(April 2019 ).

Allgreatcars,butIwouldn’tswapmy

XK8foranyofthem,especiallynowthatit

starts.Ijusthopethat,thistime,Icankeep

itthatway.

PAULWALTON–EDITOR

2000 XK8 4.0

PaultakeshisXK8forasunnydrivetoBlenheimPalacefortheJECJaguar

Festival–butonlyafterhehasboughtanothernewbattery

Paul’sXK8parkedattheJaguarFestival.BlenheimPalaceinthedistance

Thepatrolmandoesconfirmmysuspicions,

though.Afterhavingdrainedandthen

rechargedthebatteryafewtimes,I’ve

ruinedit.Despitebeinga9 00 -ampunit,it’s

producingamere40.ThedynamoIfitted

tomybicyclewhenIwas 11 producedmore

powerthanthat.

Itbeing5.30pmonaSaturday,it’samad

rushtomylocalcaraccessoriesshopfora

replacement,whichisthesecondbattery

I’vehadtobuyin 12 monthsbecauseof

under-useandovercharging.Ialsobuy

somethingIshouldhaveboughtyearsago–

atricklechargertokeepthebatterytopped

upduringthetimesIdon’tuseitregularly.

So,withanewbatteryinplaceandthe

carfiringasitshould,Ilookforwardtothe

drivetoBlenheimPalace, 80 milesaway.

It’sworththewait.It’sbeenawhilesince

I’vegiventhecaraproperblast(hencethe

issueswiththebattery)andit’sgreatto

Paulenjoysthe80-milejourneyacrosstoOxfordshire TheXK8atthebackofthelongqueueofJaguarsenteringthepalacegrounds

Paul’snewtricklechargershouldstophislatest

batteryfrombeingruined