The Jaguar Enthusiast Podcast

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.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.

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.

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!

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.

The Jaguar Enthusiast Podcast has created a tradition of gathering the team together at the end of each year and reviewing the highlights of the past 12 months of Jaguar activities together. This year is no different so, on this special episode, we will be sharing some personal memories and looking forward to the amazing calendar of events yet to come in the New Year.Join James Blackwell, Richard West, Colin Porter and Ray Ingman - hosted by Wayne Scott for our fun review of 2023. 

The JEC Podcast continues with part two of an exciting interview that investigates the background and lives of the two drivers who took Jaguar to victory at Le Mans in 1953, Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton. Find out why Duncan Hamilton carried satsuma in every race car, how the 1953 race unfolded and how Tony Rolt’s legacy is long-lasting to this day with all-wheel drive. Wayne Scott talks to Stuart Rolt (Major Tony Rolt's son), Caroline Lee (Duncan Hamilton's daughter) and Dominic Hamilton (Duncan Hamilton's grandson). This interview was reproduced on the JEC Podcast with the kind permission of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust and was originally filmed as a video for their archives. 

Pioneering renewable fuel specialist, Coryton, recently launched the UK's first publicly available sustainable fuel. It is a fuel that could secure the future of the classic vehicle movement and historic motorsport. The SUSTAIN Classic range allows regular combustion engines in our Jaguars to be fuelled by environmentally friendly, plant-based petrol without the need for any engine modifications. Now available from launch partner, Motor Spirit at Bicester Heritage, with more stockists to follow, there are already classic cars on our roads using the fuel and a number of rallies and motorsport events have also utilised the fuel. In this podcast, we speak to Andrew Willson, CEO of Coryton and Business Development Director David Richardson about their vision of the future, the details behind how the fuel is made and how it might be scaled up for future use. There is a lot of optimism, realism and innovation in this podcast - so we hope you enjoy the insights it offers!

In the latest Jaguar Enthusiast Podcast, Wayne is at the JEC TrackSport event at Harewood Hillclimb being thrown (quite literally) up the hill in the racing S-Type of Andrew Harper. 

In the latest podcast from the Jaguar Enthusiasts' Club, we meet Andrew Nahum, curator and historian, Peter Grimsdale, author and TV producer and Painting the Cave (a specialist in creative digital technologies) to learn about how the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust has devised a new and original virtual journey through the life and work of one of Britain’s greatest carmakers and designers, Sir William Lyons.This is the first exhibition devoted to his work, showing how his unique eye for style evolved from motorcycle sidecars to dramatic racing and road cars. It is also the first vehicle museum experience to be originated online. From the first SS sidecars to the Jaguar E-type, it gives a vivid 3-D tour in virtual space through Lyon’s life and his creations. This ground-breaking online exhibition journey draws on the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust’s collection of vehicles and archives, exhibited at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon and the Coventry Transport Museum. This virtual exhibition gives new access to some of its precious treasures.

In this podcast, we continue our tour of Jaguar specialists buy paying a visit to Classic Motor Cars (CMC) in Bridgnorth. Their Managing Director Tim Griffin shows us around the impressive facilities including the parts stress, car storage, restoration, maintenance, body shop and trim areas for a comprehensive guide to their work. Along the way, we also meet some of their staff and Hayden, their latest apprentice who is apparently already a master at building Moss gearboxes! It’s a great insight into a unique restoration company with some interesting thoughts on the wider classic car scene along the way. 

This unique gathering was organised as part of the launch of the book ‘Strictly No Admittance!’, which tells the definitive history of the lightweight E-type programme. The first Lightweight built, 4 WPD, (which took 4 victories in 1963 piloted by then F1 World Champion Graham Hill and one further win in 1964 piloted by a then promising young Scot called Jackie Stewart) was brought over to the event on behalf of owner Shaun Lynne by keepers CKL Engineering, who maintain the car.This interview was the first time the team have been together with a Lightweight E-type since the factory racing programme ceased in late 1964 but the bonds of friendship this small programme wrought were obvious to see as they discussed the car’s details and shared memories. The team’s thoughts were recorded in this interview conducted by Wayne Scott for the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, this episode presents the second of the two-part series. You can hear part 1 in episode 86 of the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club Podcast.