Buy buy Jaguar XJ6

Another sad day here at Great Escape Classic Car Hire. We're waving goodbye to our trusty 1974 Jaguar XJ6 saloon after 3 great years. Since I bought this car in March 2007 I've grown unnaturally attached to, mainly because it is so beautiful to drive and is such a good looking saloon car. But now it's for sale via E Bay, with a low starting reserve.

The Jaguar is part of the largest fleet of classic Jaguar hire cars in the UK and has been on hire through Great Escape for three years, in which time it's become popular with weddings and also worked on several fashion shoots and TV documentaries. Its Sable paintwork with green interior is certainly unusual, but it's back in fashion - and it's one of the things I like most about it, because it makes it so different.

Since the car has been with us for hire we have spent several thousand pounds improving and maintaining it, so someone is going to get something of a bargain. Plus it's had regular and careful use - its last hire was 470 miles in 24 hours.

So long and fairwell then BABs the Jag. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved. Right, better stop there then. To find out more click here to visit the EBay listing or call Graham on 01527 893733.

Great Escape with Sky TV

Great Escape Classic Car Hire recently took part in a macabre re-enactment of a brutal 1970s murder. Of course, it was all for the cameras and no animals or people were harmed. The film shoot for Sky TV's Crime and Punishment documentary channel told the story of a brutal 1974 murder of a young London man.
The producers were after authenticity and required a Jaguar XJ6 saloon as driven by one of the gang. Great Escape has the only non-white Jaguar XJ6 for hire in the UK and we were only too happy to help. We again provided the car at short notice, taking a brief by phone and email and delivering the car to central London the following day for the all-day shoot.
The Jaguar XJ6 was used to film the gang capturing the victim, arriving and leaving the murder scene and loading the 'dead body' into the back of the car. Fortunately the Jaguar's capacious boot and interior space was perfect for transporting the gang and the body, perhaps something the original criminals were aware of when they chose the big cat.
While William Lyons, who designed the Jaguar XJ6, may not rate this appearance as the pinnacle of the classic Jaguar's career, we felt the car helped the create a period feel to the film, particularly with its Sable and green colour scheme.
To find out more about the Jaguar XJ6 for hire in Yorkshire click here.

Wales in a classic car

When my wife Janine and I decided to organise an 'away day' to plan 2011 for our classic car hire business Great Escape, Wales was the obvious destination. Although many of our customers head towards the Cotswolds from our Worcestershire HQ, the few that venture westwards come back with tales that have often tempted us.

So we booked ourselves into the superb The Drawing Room near Builth Wells for dinner bed and breakfast. This B&B is a real find, located just 90 minutes from our Worcestershire base in the heart of the Welsh Borders, it offers real home comfort and superb food in its small restaurant.

With the easy part done - choosing the B&B - I was left with the hard job of selecting a classic car to take. Strange as it may seem for someone who is in and out of classic cars all day, I very rarely get to drive the cars in my leisure time. We are usually hurrying from location to location to deliver cars or organise repairs, hardly the stuff of classic drives.

So I was faced with an unusually tough choice. In the end it came down to two cars - either my mint Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti or my equally good Daimler Sovereign Coupe. With poor weather forecast and feeling knackered from another week hussling classic cars, I chose the Daimler.

The Daimler Sovereign is essentially a Jaguar XJ6 coupe with nicer seats. One of 1,500 4.2 Sovereigns made, this car is Regency Red (memorably described by Jeremy Clarkson as 'the colour of a vet's arm') with a tan interior. Many customers tend to overlook this car, favouring instead the Jaguar Mk2 and E Type, but anyone who does chance upon it absolutely loves it. The Daimler is quite easily the nicest riding car I have ever driven and is effortlessly stylish - there is something novel and entertaining that never quite wears off about dropping all four windows and experiencing the 'pillarless effect.'

So we packed up the Daimler and hit the road, travelling to Builth Wells via Witney, Leominster, Ludlow and Brecon and arriving a couple of hours later. The road were quiet but endlessly entertaining, even in a big old barge like the Daimler, Despite featherlight steering, the car handles beautifully. The roads around Herefordshire and the Welsh Borders are generally quiet but constantly amaze with oustanding scenery and an endless variety of dips, turns and straights.

Suitably rested and planned-out we hit the road the next day, stopping at Hay on Wye and then on to Symonds Yat before returning home to meet some customers.

All in all, a very relaxing and hugely rewarding journey of just a couple of hundred miles. So if you're planning a trip in one of Great Escape's classic cars, go West!

Jaguar XJ6 hits the mean streets of London

We took our 1974 Jaguar XJ6 saloon down to London again recently for a film shoot for a Sky crime documentary. The script called for a large 1970s saloon to transport the criminals and our low slung Jaguar XJ6 four door saloon fitted the bill. Our Sable car is identical to one driven by Arthur Daley in Minder so while this project was perhaps not as glamorous as the fashion shoots that the car has recently appeared in, it does at least express another aspect of the character of William Lyons' evergreen saloon.

The Jaguar XJ6 arrived in London very early at the production team's offices just off Oxford Street. The Jaguar turned heads in the rush our traffic with several drivers winding down their windows to find out more about the sleek, low-slung coupe-like saloon. The car performed faultlessly on the 3 hour journey, despite the heavy traffic.

From the production offices we headed out to White City where the shoot took place. The Jaguar featured in virtually every scene. The script required the actors to load a body wrapped in carpet into the boot of the car. While this isn't something that the Jaguar design team anticipated when they developed the car we can confirm that the boot is perfectly sized for the purpose, although we hope no customers will put this to the test.

The Jaguar XJ6 Series 1, 2 and 3 is one of the most enduring and popular cars that Jaguar has ever made. Launched in 1968 and in production until 1992 the Jaguar XJ6 established a design style for Jaguar that remained in use until the launch of the current Jaguar XJ. The car was designed to resemble a coupe but with four doors and is arguably one of the most beautiful and fully resolved saloon cars ever made. Despite the cars undeniable good looks and high standard of fittings - including a walnut dashboard - like many previous Jaguars the XJ6 suffered a mixed reputation due to unreliability and overselling. Like the Jaguar Mk2 before it, when new the Jaguar XJ6 proved popular with aspiring people on both sides of the law thanks to its upmarket image cut with a dash of panache. The image of the second hand Jaguar XJ6 was epitomised by Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder. While the Jaguar XJ6 still retains an image of faded glamour it is fast becoming recognised for its style and engineering excellence. Alongside its elegant looks this is probably one of the best riding cars ever made.

Great Escape Classic Car Hire provides cars for TV, film and advertising projects on a weekly basis. To find out more visit our TV, Film and Advertising home page. Or call 01527 893733.

Jaguar XJ6 adds 1970s glamour to photoshoot

A 1974 Jaguar XJ6 saloon from Great Escape Classic Car Hire has been specially selected for a glamorous fashion shoot because of its distinctive colour scheme. The creative team from fashion label Tucker loved the Sable with green interior Jaguar XJ6 Series 2 car and decided to feature it in the photo shoot for their new catalogue.
Great Escape delivered the car to The Master Shipwright's House in Deptford, London on Easter Friday at 7am for the day-long photo shoot. The unique waterfront location was selected to suit Tucker's London-themed shoot. The Jaguar XJ6 was chosen as a typically British 1970s saloon car and the colour scheme fitted right into the period feel.
The Tucker shoot is one of several music video and static photoraphy location projects that have featured Great Escape cars in 2010.
"We have a lot of experience of working with production teams," says Graham Eason of Great Escape. "It's important to be flexible. This shoot was short notice, on a Bank Holiday and involved a very early start. But we like that kind of challenge.
"Our 1974 Jaguar XJ6 saloon has quite an unusual colour scheme, which was very fashionable in the 1970s but lost favour in the 1980s and 1990s. We think it makes the car stand out, which is what you want when you hire a car. It's great to see that the car is once again fashionable."
The Great Escape Jaguar XJ6 is available to hire by the day, week or weekend from Great Escape Classic Car Hire's Worcestershire base.
For more details visit the Great Escape website.

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Vote for the Jaguar XJ6

The Jaguar XJ6 is one of the greatest saloon cars ever made and it is now about to receive the recognition it deserves. The Great Escape Classic Car Hire Jaguar XJ6 saloon could be named as AROnline's Car of the Year by visitors to the influential British motoring forum. The 1974 4.2 litre Jaguar saloon in Sable with green leather was previously selected as a Car of the Month by the magazine and is now up for the annual prize against 11 other cars.
AROnline is a highly popular resource for fans of British classic cars. Visitors have the opportunity to select their Car of the Year from the 12 Car of the Month winners. The All-British cars competing alongside the Jaguar XJ6 include a Rover 2300, Vauxhall Chevette, Mini, Austin 1300 and MGF. To vote for the Jaguar XJ6 click here.
"The Jaguar XJ6 is a fantastic car and it is great that it is getting this kind of recognition," says Graham Eason of Great Escape. "Our car is a very low mileage car and finished in a rare colour combination.
"The Jaguar XJ6 is one of the most beautiful saloon cars ever made and the ride and handling are superlative for such an old design."
Great Escape Classic Car Hire operates from bases in Suffolk, Cotswolds and Dorset and operates a fleet of 40 classic cars from the 1950s to 1990s Every car is available for self drive rental by the day, weekend or week. Prices start at £125.