Monday, August 16, 2010

XJ75 CONCEPT GOES PLATINUM!

Jaguar’s XJ Concept is all about celebrating 75 years of Jaguar and sparking emotion, blogs Ian Callum, below, Design Director, Jaguar Cars.

Jaguar is about surprise these days and celebrating 75 years of the Jaguar name. That’s why we created a design concept based on the all-new XJ that would really surprise people.
When people saw our XJ75 Platinum Concept on the Pebble Beach concept car lawn this weekend, we got quite a reaction. When enthusiasts came up to me and said they're not sure about what we've done, well that's great, because “not sure” means it's sparking some emotion. It’s making them think.

The idea behind the car was for the Jaguar design team to explore the versatility of the original XJ design and show the car's potential for customization and personalization.

1933 DELAGE: BEST OF SHOW AT PEBBLE BEACH

Rare streamlined 1933 Delage D8S roadster with coachwork by De Villars was judged best of the best at the 60th Concours d'Elegance!
"There are so many things about this car that are special," said owner Jim Patterson, who founded Long John Silver's restaurant and contributed to the founding of the Rally's Hamburger chain.  "We've won (with other cars) at a lot of concours, but never here.  This win at Pebble is the ultimate.  This is the one win that really matters."

Competitors from 33 states and 14 countries brought their prized automotive possessions to Pebble Beach for judging in 29 classes.  

"This Delage owned by the Patterson Collection in Louisville, KY has a short wheelbase that makes it look more rakish, but it still has a long and elegant look," said Concours Chairman Sandra Button. "It did 110 miles-per-hour in its day; it could race and was stunningly beautiful.  This car could do it all; it embodied style, speed and comfort."     

Delage added the sports version to the D8 range in 1930. To make the S more aerodynamic than its predecessors, a new radiator shell was used, which required a special hood and firewall that made the D8S even more visually distinctive. Patterson's D8S graced the 1933 Salon de Paris at the Grand Palais. It was owned during the 1950s by the Grand Hotel Velasquez in Madrid, Spain and was used
as transportation for its more discerning guests.  Now it's one of 60 Pebble Beach Concours Best of Show winners.

Proceeds from Concours’ raffles, auctions, sponsorships and ticket sales helped contribute more than $1 million to charity for the fifth consecutive year.

For more information about Pebble Beach, please visit http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/