XJ-S Anniversary Special: Ed Abbott, Senior Development Engineer, XJ-S

Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine has teamed up with our heritage partners, The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, to track the human stories behind one of Jaguar's best-selling model ranges that was in production for nearly a quarter of a century!Launched in 1975 as the successor to the legendary E-type, the XJS celebrates 50 years this year. So, buckle up — we’re going to explore the highs, lows, and lasting impact of Jaguar’s misunderstood masterpiece: the XJS.Ed began his career at Jaguar in the 1970s, where he worked as a development engineer on the company’s road cars and competition projects. His work spanned chassis, suspension, and performance development, giving him a front-row seat as Jaguar navigated one of the most fascinating and challenging chapters in its history. After his time at Jaguar, Ed went on to found Abbott Racing, a specialist engineering company that built a reputation for extracting performance and reliability from both road and racing machinery. That blend of hands-on engineering expertise and entrepreneurial drive has made him a respected voice in the world of automotive development.With first-hand experience of the XJ-S from the inside, Ed brings invaluable perspective on what it took to turn Jaguar’s grand touring vision into a reality — and how those lessons carried forward into his own engineering journey.As we celebrate 50 years of the Jaguar XJ-S, it’s a pleasure to welcome Ed Abbott to share his memories, insights, and stories from an extraordinary career in engineering.

Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine has teamed up with our heritage partners, The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, to track the human stories behind one of Jaguar's best-selling model ranges that was in production for nearly a quarter of a century!Launched in 1975 as the successor to the legendary E-type, the XJS celebrates 50 years this year. So, buckle up — we’re going to explore the highs, lows, and lasting impact of Jaguar’s misunderstood masterpiece: the XJS.Nick’s career has seen him working for Honda, Peugeot, Jaguar and TWR, going on to lecture on automotive design at Coventry University and around the world.Nick was involved in the XJ41 project aimed at replacing the XJ-S. Early clay models were labelled F-TYPE, and there was great hope for a world-class vehicle to serve as the E-type's spiritual successor.That led to the XJS facelift project for Nick, and we hope to hear more from him about that in the future.Nick also worked at TWR, where he was involved in bringing the fabulous XJ220 design to production.Alongside his design career, Nick became an educator and writer, documenting the history of automotive design with clarity and passion. His acclaimed book Jaguar Design: A Story of Style is considered a definitive account of how Jaguar has blended engineering and artistry across decades, from the earliest saloons to the most modern sports cars.Nick brings not only professional expertise but also an insider’s understanding of the challenges and triumphs that shaped Jaguar’s design DNA. His insights into the XJ-S help us understand how design decisions of the past continue to influence the cars we celebrate today.As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar XJ-S, it’s a privilege to welcome Nick Hull to explore how design shaped Jaguar’s identity and what the XJ-S truly means in the wider story of the marque.

Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine has teamed up with our heritage partners, The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, to track the human stories behind one of Jaguar's best-selling model ranges that was in production for nearly a quarter of a century!Launched in 1975 as the successor to the legendary E-type, the XJS celebrates 50 years this year. So, buckle up — we’re going to explore the highs, lows, and lasting impact of Jaguar’s misunderstood masterpiece: the XJS.Allan Scott is best known as the Manager of the Engine Division at Tom Walkinshaw Racing — TWR — during the golden era of the 1980s and early 1990s. Originally hailing from New Zealand, Allan trained as an engineer before moving to the UK, where he became deeply involved in engine development for racing and road-going performance programs.At TWR, Allan led the team responsible for turning Jaguar’s V12 into a world-beating powerplant. Under his guidance, the XJ-S’s engine evolved into a championship-winning force in European touring car racing, and later, into the endurance-dominating heart of the legendary Group C Jaguars — machines that conquered Daytona, Le Mans, and tracks across the globe.As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar XJ-S, it’s an honour to have Allan with us to reflect on his experiences — from the workshop floor to the winner’s podium — and to hear first-hand what it took to transform Jaguar’s engines into icons.

Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine has teamed up with our heritage partners, The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, to track the human stories behind one of Jaguar's best-selling model ranges that was in production for nearly a quarter of a century!Launched in 1975 as the successor to the legendary E-type, the XJS celebrates 50 years this year. So, buckle up — we’re going to explore the highs, lows, and lasting impact of Jaguar’s misunderstood masterpiece: the XJS.On this episode, we speak to Barrie Thrussell. He arrived at Jaguar from Morris, where he reached the Global Aftersales Director position before leaving to take on other responsibilities. He then returned to the UK Operations Director role under Nick Scheele. From proving-ground tests to fine-tuning the car’s refinement and handling, Barrie was at the heart of the engineering effort that turned Jaguar’s bold grand tourer into a production reality and ensured its ongoing quality development when in production, as well as educating the dealerships on what the model offered at that time. As we mark 50 years of the XJ-S, Barrie joins us to share his stories from inside Jaguar during one of its most fascinating eras.

The Group C and IMSA GTP era of sports car racing was truly a golden age, and few teams reached the level of success and admiration as Tom Walkinshaw Racing, whose factory Jaguar programs took on the very best on both sides of the Atlantic. For the first time, the whole history of this iconic team has been told, with author Neil Smith going beyond race results and car specifications to uncover the fascinating stories, anecdotes, and intrigue from those who were there. On the Prowl - The Definitive History of the Walkinshaw Jaguar Sports Car Team is out now, so we interviewed the author, Neil Smith, about how he went about compiling this impressive book. 

You don’t need us to tell you that there are quite literally seismic changes happening to Jaguar currently as it embarks upon the reimagination of the brand and vehicle lineup. Jaguar’s unveiling of its refreshed brand and the launch of the Type 00 concept car meant that even people normally totally oblivious to all things motoring suddenly had an opinion on Jaguar.The previous range of models has reached a dignified conclusion as the sun sets on Jaguar's former era, and the brand is now confronting the issue of its future survival head-on. Government pressures, the relentless drive towards EVs and, of course, the sad fact of failing sales on its existing lien meant that Jaguar had to do something bold, creative and radical. We were offered an amazing opportunity here on the Jaguar Enthusiast Podcast to interview the man who was leading the company through this pivotal moment in its history, Managing Director Rawdon Glover.  Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, and he is also a keen tennis player, skier and golfer. I arrived at what is now familiar territory to Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine - Jaguar’s HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire. On the day of our interview, the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust were busy wheeling in examples of models from over the road for a curateddisplay of heritage vehicles, and, as usual, they were drawing a crowd from the many passing employees in this hub of activity. It was an apt backdrop to what I needed to understand from Rawdon regarding Jaguar’s heritage. Have they really abandoned the past, like so many other media outlets claim they have, and reverted to how they were when the X-Type was launched? This was a particularly bleak time in Jaguar’s history for appreciation of its heritage where sales teams, marketing departments and even dealerships were forbidden from talking about E-types and the like, denying all knowledge of the past as they focused on the future of this Ford controlled brand with a modern F1 team. Under Tata ownership, Jaguar’s important heritage has seen something of a resurgence, so would this continue into the new era?So settle back and enjoy this insightful interview with Jaguar’s MD, Rawdon Glover, as we attempt to answer some of those burning questions. I must add, before we start, however, that this interview was recorded before the announcement of Trump’s tariffs for imported goods into the USA, a major market for JLR. The impacts of that remain to be seen at the time of recording.

Early on a stunningly sunny Saturday morning in March, Jaguars started to arrive at Podium Café on the outskirts of Newbury for the inaugural JEC Cars and Coffee meet. It was to be a wonderful morning of celebration, coffee and cakes! There was something for everyone, from the feature display of TWR Jaguars to the diversity of cars, from the oldest, a Mark IV, to the latest F-PACE SVRs.Visitors enjoyed tours of the new TWR performance facility where the XJS Supercat is built, and we were joined for talks by Jaguar celebrities, including the former Chief Engineer of TWR during the 1988 and 1990 Le Mans wins, Alastair MacQueen - our guest of honour.In this episode, we meet some of those present at this first Cars and Coffee Meet including, Alastair Macqueen (Former TWR Chief Engineer), Richard West (Former TWR Marketing Director), James Blackwell (JEC General Manager), Matthew Davis (MD, Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust) and a whole host of owners.

At the NEC Classic Motor Show back in November 2024, the JEC Team presented an episode of the Jaguar Enthusiast Podcast in front of a live audience . It was a chance to get the some of the show team together to look back over the past 12 months and also preview what is to come in 2025. The team consisted of James Blackwell (JEC General Manager), Dan Moffat (XJ40 model coordinator), Colin Porter (JEC Tracksport manager), Tom Robinson (JEC Technical Director) and Ray Ingman (Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine sub-editor). The panel was hosted by Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine editor and podcast host Wayne Scott. Enjoy!

Fergus Walkinshaw and John Kane met while on a road rally. Both had a passion for fast cars and Jaguars. Fergus's link to the marque is obvious. His father was Tom Walkinshaw, the man behind TWR and JaguarSport. The man who took Jaguar to victory at Daytona, then Le Mans in 1988 and 1990, built the XJ220 and XJR-15 and ran the Group C programme successfully for Jaguar, taking the brand to World Sportscar Championship status. Before all that - TWR revived ailing XJ-S sales in the early '80s by making the wafty big GT do things nobody could have imagined, like winning the Spa 24 Hours and Bathurst. TWR also created a line of XJ-S specials with body kits, performance upgrades, and bespoke interior accessories. These later morphed into an official collaboration with Jaguar under the ‘JaguarSport’ banner – resulting in the XJR-S and XJ40-based original XJR. Fast-forward to 2024, the 40th anniversary of TWR's winning the European Touring Car Championship with the XJ-S. The TWR name has once again become synonymous with 'off the peg' XJ-Ss with mind-bending performance and styling. Similarly, just as in 1984, the XJ-S has fallen off the radar somewhat in recent years. While values had grown steadily, the market has seemed to stop and plateau more recently. Moreover, a new generation of 'retro car' enthusiasts seems more obsessed with Porsche 'resto-mods' than with anything from Coventry. Car websites and social media channels are full of them, which is significant—as we will get to in a moment. Fergus Walkinshaw and John Kane embarked on this exciting journey together to shake things up in the 'resto-mod' market and get the Jaguar name back out there amongst newer generations of fans. The results of that journey are frankly staggering!

To celebrate the monumental milestone of both our 100th episode and the start of a new series of Jaguar Enthusiast Podcasts, we took the show out in front of a live audience at Podium Place, Newbury. We were recording in Podium Paddock, the private members’ club that inhabits the mezzanine floor above TWR’s workshops. As we spoke, the new TWR SuperCat was being built and in a later episode, we will share our interview with Fergus Walkinshaw.In this episode though, Richard West turns the tables on Wayne Scott, the usual presenter of the podcast, and instead puts him in the hot seat to be interviewed. It was a fun night reminiscing on the moments in Wayne’s life that led to him not only presenting the best Jaguar-focused podcast on the internet but also relaunching Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine as editor. This was recorded earlier this year, in May 2024.