Jaguar Born to Perform Tour at Moroso

Jaguar Born to Perform Tour at Moroso
by Pascal Gademer

A lap at Moroso

Impressive is really the word that comes to mind, and while the non supercharged XJ8 doesn't have a punch of my XKR, it is a fast cat easily approaching triple digit speed at the end of the front straight; not bad considering we started from a full stop near pit out... The all new 6 speed ZF tranny gives crisp yet silky smooth upshift even when flirting with the red line. Braking is very effective but like all modern Jaguar lacks a bit in pedal feel although it may helps in making for smooth stops in street driving conditions. Thankfully, Jaguar kept its trademark J-Gate despite repeated criticism from automotive journalists always craving and droolling offer the lates gadgets and gizmos... the J-gate does the job and provides tactile feedback of the selected gear, something that a slapstick or push button shifter doesn't. One complaint about the J Gate is the lack of spacing between 2, 3, 4 and 5th on the left side due to the need to accomodate the extra gear position compared to the previous generation.

Turning into turn 1, a long 180 degree left hander reveal precise steering and very little body roll. having downshifted into 2nd gear, there is plenty of power to accelerate past the apex and track out on the short chute towards the next turn, a 180 degree to the right followed by another short straight. No surprises, the big cat is very responsive and feels much lighter than its size suggest thanks to the alloy body shell. Moroso has very little runoff and I wasn't going to test the cars limit but the all new air supension developped for the new XJ provides a crisp yet comfortable ride. The slight kink between 5 and 6 is barely noticeable, weight transfering nicely from the right side to the left depsite my line being driving lacking in smoothness... Turn 7 is wide with plenty of runoff allowing the use of a little more power yet while drifting a bit to the outside towards the dirty side, traction control doesn't jump in as it would in previous models. Seems like Jaguar electronic gurus have greatly refined the driver aids...

I really wanted to see how nimble the big cat would be at the chicane on the back straight but we caught up with the car ahead as it puttered along in the chicane as if on the sunday drive... too bad... we ended up following the him thru the rest of the track at what felt like an incredibly slow pace and back into the pits where I left the wheel to Ginger Corda and settled for the the back seat. Not the best seat in the house of course but very comfortable with much more room that in the previous generation XJ. The new XJ may have lost some of its elegant tapered lines, sacrificed for more interior room, and the benefits are obvious. One thing hasn't changed much, thankfully, is that special fit like a glove feeling you get in a Jaguar... enough space yet you do feel like the car fits you, especially behind the wheel. It also feels very familiar with all the controls where you expect them to be coming from previous models, unlike some of the teutonic competition... you don't need to read a 100 page manual to operate the systems...

2003 will be remembered as a significant year in Jaguar's history with the launch of the all new alloy bodied XJ, the 7th generation of Jaguar's flagship saloon. To make sure the introduction wouldn't go un-noticed, Jaguar North America organized the Jaguar Born to Perform tour held at various race tracks around the country throughout 2003, in conjunction with vintage racing events. Why vintage racing? because of Jaguar's heritage of course and also because of the Jaguar Select Edition program being the sponsor for the succesful Donovan racing team E-types.

Moroso, the road course just west of Palm Beach was the final stop of the tour and Jaguar North America extended invitation to club members to spend the day at the races, enjoy a very nice hospitality tent, test drive the new XJ saloon on the track and burn some rubber in 2004 X-Types on the autocross course. Corporate cousin Land Rover also offered test drives of their Range Rover flagship in a muddy course to demonstrate its off road capabilities.

We already reviewed the new XJ saloon following a test drive at the Lime Rock CT stop of Jaguar's tour in May, click here for the article and pictures. At Lime Rock, I only drove the XJR on a large autocross style course, an impressive ride, but didn't get to drive it on the track; this time I was able to drive an XJ8 on Moroso's road course. While a single lap is a bit short to really evaluate a car, being familiar with the track did let me focus on the car and how different it is from the previous generation Rs. See sidebar for details but it is clear that the new XJ builds on the previous generations with improvement and refinements making it a very enjoyable ride...

Another fun ride was the X-type autocross set on the skid pad using 2004 models of the "baby Jag". The new skid pad at Moroso is very smooth and somewhat slippery making things interesting. I was able to take a few laps driving a sports model with low profile P Zero Nero tires providing far better grip than the base Continental tires. The X-type is very responsive but do feel a bit underpowered after driving the V8 powered XJ.. there is no replacement for cubic inches, is there? Traction control kicked in a bit too much, as it should, and I noticed when pushed to the limit in the slow corners that the steering wasn't as precise as on the larger Jaguars, maybe a bit of torque steer coming in from the front part of the All wheel Drive system. This can't be felt under normal driving condition and with a base price of just under $30 000, the X-type is a great value. The quality of its interior is excellent and very close to what is found on the XJ.

But Moroso is a race track and we were entertained almost non stop by vintage racing the highlight of which for us Jaguar enthusiasts were the E-Type of the Donovan team sponsored by Jaguar Select Edition. Slick silver E-types with BRG racing stripe holding their own against Porsches, Corvettes and other vintage racers in their group. The second lap of the E-type group race was particularly entertaining when a Corvette StingRay racer managed to gain on one of the E-types on the back straight but failed to make the chicane in a cloud of dust; no harm done and he rejoined in last place...

Back under the tent, food and drinks where available the entire day along with F1 race simulator for kids... young and old... A special treat was the presence of racing legend Bob Tulius, always ready to chat with enthusiasts about his carreer or the two Group 44 racers on display coming from his collection. Outside the hospitality tent, a dozen classic Jaguars brought by club members received a lot of attention as well as the vintage racers on display.

Club cars where judged and a few members received memorable plaques for their participation.

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