Presseauszug aus classic cars 07/01

Super Power Words: Phil Beil Photography: Malcolm Griffiths News release from classiccars (July 2001)
When I met Car Point's Andreas Freund at the Techno Classica Essen show earlier this year he was buzzing with excitement. He'd had the chance to try out the latest Mk2 Jaguar that his company had built for a German customer. Says Andreas: 'I had it up to 250km/h on the autobahn, but it wanders about at that speed - I don't think the aerodynamics were designed for such speeds.' Nobody would dispute that the Jaguar Mk2 was one of the performance icons of it's generation, but surely a cruising speed of nearly 155mph is just bar room fantasv. I mean, look at it. From the outside it looks like any otner well-restored Mk2, with just some discreet cooling louvres let into the bonnet, opened-out rear wheelarches and a slightly nose-down stance to give it that tweaked-in-the-Sixties look. Delve deeper and you discover why Andreas wasn't exaggerating after all.
Exterior modifications are subtle; modern ZR-rated 2l5/55x16 tyres, Iarger rear wheelarches oil cooler hidden under front bumper and Iouvres in bonnet
Peer through those bonnet louvres and you won't see the familiar polished cam covers of the classic straight-six XK engine glinting back at you. lnstead your eyes make out rough-cast aluminium boxes bearing the legends 'supercharged' and 'V8' through the gloom. Open the tiny bonnet tor confirmation and blink. lf lt looks familiar, vou must have bad a nosey under the bonner ot a Jaguar XKR recently. lt's all there; 32 valves, eight cylinders, four litres, four camshafts, two intercoolers and one supercharger.
	You're in for a dose of conflicting messages. Your eyes are saying Mk2, your ears Xk; it's a surreal experience.
And before you ask, that little lot adds up to 370bhp and 387lb ft of torque. Of course, Mk2S with engines from later Jaguars are nothing new - 4.2-litre XJ6s. 4.o-litre XJ4OS and even V12 XJSs have all been plundered to give the ciassic saloon more modern power and refinement - but none represent such a technical achievement as this. Looking at the engine bay is misleading. The XKR motor looks as if it belongs in there, it's such a neat installation. Nottinghamshire-based restorer Keith Taylor is the man responsible for making Andreas dreams a reality. Says Keith: 'Getting the engine in is the easy bit. but making t work took weeks and weeks. Andreas says to customers "Yes of course we can do it, we can do anything", then it's down to us to make it happen.' The look on Keith's face hints at what he must have been through to make it happen. The project started with a Mk2 3.8 from Keith's stock of donor cars and a rolled left-hand drive XKR. Keith prefers rough but previously untouched examples as donor cars: 'We end up replacing everything anyway, so there's no point in starting with a better car.' The first problem Keith had to overcome was physicaliy fitting the V8 into a bay designed for a straight six. 'We had to modify the engine bay to get it in, and even then we had to fit the bare engine then add all of the ancillaries afterwards.' He admits that this will make future engine removal more complicated, but a modern design like the AJ-V8 should go for two or three times the mileage of the original XK straight six between rebuilds. After accommodating the basic engine, Keith's next headache was trying to find a home for all of the bulky ancillaries. His voice has that can't-believe-we-really-did-it tone when he recalls trying to make the cooling work: 'A Mk2 Jaguar has two radiators, one to keep the engine cool, and another to heat the cabin. An XKR has five: one each to look after the engine, supercharger, engine oil, gearbox oil and air conditioning system.' The next time you see a Mk2 with its bonnet open, have a look at the scant spare room inside and then you'll appreciate the problem. As if the job wasn't difficult enough, Keith discovered that t the five-speed automatic gearbox has to be at the correct temperature to function properly. 'I first road-tested the car last summer, and the temperature was rock solid. And that was before we fitted the bonnet louvres - the customer asked for those later because he liked the look of them.' Tvpical of the current breed of improved classics, the Car Point XKR Mk2 had to be modernised throughout to create a complete result. Nineties performance with Fifties handling and brakes wasn't an option. lt made sense to use as much as possible from the XKR donor, bin this wasn't possible with the brakes and suspension. At the rear, the original leaf-sprung live axle has been replaced with the independent rear suspension complete with inboard disc brakes from a Series III XJ6. Steering is by XJS rack-and-pinion in place of the original Burman recirculating ball arrangement that was criticised when the cars were new.
	Next installation of XKR engine belies the effort that went into fitting it - and all of its modern ancillaries - into Mk2 engine ba
Many of the mechanical changes had been developed on previous conversions, but integrating the XKR electronics proved the biggest source of sleepless nights. Keith needed to incorporate the XKR computer in order to manage the engine's ignition and fueling, but unlike cars of the Eighties, in which an electronic control unit tended to be dedicated to engine functions alone, the XKR brain watches over and controls every system on the car in Orwellian fashion. As he soon discovered, nothing, from the automatic gearbox to the electronic windows, could be considered in isolation. And like a punch line to a sick joke, there was the XKR security system that would not allow the engine to run if any of the major, or some of the minor, components from the original car weren't there or connected up. Brilliant for protecting XKRs being stolen for their parts, a nightmare for Keith Taylor. Remembers Keith: 'For a long time we seemed to be taking one step forward and three step back.' For example, Keith fitted a Powr-Lok ditterential from a V12 to make the car more relaxed at high speed, but the altered ratio confused the gearbox into changing up at the wrong engine revs, causing the computer to slip into limp-home mode. Says Keith: At times, it seemed as if the project would never move on, but with each new day our understanding improved.'
Interior is a clever blend of Mk2 tradition and XKR technology. Steering column and seats are power adjustable. Gearbox is five-speed auto with manual mode as in XK8. Radical as this XKS MKs might seem, it could be consideres the obvious next step in as quest for better performance.
Slip into die cabin and you'Il find a blend of Mk2, XJ6 and inevitably XKR fittings reflecting the requirements of the customer, and that Big Brother-like computer. The overall ambience is still Mk2, with die familiar wooden dash layout and upright driving position, but the bits you interface with - power adjustable seats and steering column that remember your favourite position, gauges, switches, CD player and even satellite navigation - are XKR. The mix of old and new feels odd at first, your brain isn't sure whether to approach this as a classic or a modern car, but you settle into the improved comfort and convenience immediately.Your ears are next in line for a dose of conflicting messages. At idle, the merest of softly rhythmic throbbing overlaid with the whirr of fuel pumps tells you the V8 is alive. Squeeze the throttle and a hint of deep rumble stirs into the mix as the car slips calmly up to urban speed. Your eyes are saying Mk2, your ears XK8. lt's a surreal experience. Break free of town, kick the throttle and as the Daimler-Benz auto slips down a ratio, the Jaguar's refined accent also stips to reveal a hardened thunderous snarl. lt's more aggressive than any XK8 l've heard thanks to a less smothering exhaust layout on this car. The sound effects may have a delicious raw edge under provocation, but the car's dynamics remain composed. Stream train torque from the Eaton M12 supercharger hurls the Mk2 from cruise to overtaking blast with one seamless push. Even in normally aspirated form, Jaguar project engineer Martin Joyce's V8 raised the class standards for its impressive output for its size and weight. In a refined luxury coupé like die XK8, it offred an indulgent blend of smooth power. Fitting a supercharger was like adding brandy to cream. The thought of all of this extra urge in a standard Mk2 Jaguar would be terrifying. The original was considered to have good handling and brakes - for the Fifties - but in 220bhp, 3.8-litre form it could be quite a handful. Thankfully, the beast is properly tamed in the Car Point Mk2. Where the original Burman recirculating ball steering box managed to be heavy, vague and slow witted, the rack-and-pinion demands little effort but offers reassuring feel and sharp responses. The change to all-independent suspension makes the ride more sophisticated and more controlled. lt adds up to better straight-line stability, and the ability to change direction without feeling you're trying to redirect a charging rhino. Pressing hard through the twists in a standard Mk2 demands skill and bravado, especially in the wet. In this one, thoughtful throttle and steering inputs are enough. As you learn to trust its responses you begin to enjoy taking the kind of liberties that would normally have the car turning round and biting you. Flick left-right-left as you straight-line a roundabout, complete with several camber changes, and the Jaguar does as it's asked. If you do find yourself hurtling towards a corner with too much speed - and it's easy to do in this car - the XJ6 brakes have the ability to carve off any excess without destabilising the car. Only the growing sound of the wind being snagged by various screen rubbers and bits of chrome trim outside compromises the car's ability as an express executive saloon; that and its tendency to feel a little light at 250km/h of course. Im sure that there are devotees of originality out there who will be horrified at the desecration of a car that so many worship. They will accuse this transformation of taking away some of the essential Mk2 essence, stripping it of character. Certainly the looks, sound and even smell ofthe 3.8-litre XK engine, not to mention its prodigious power and torque, were all essential ingredients that helped elevate the Mk2 Jag to icon status. But although the German owner ofthis car loved the ciassic looks and everything the Mk2 stands for, he wanted a car he could happily use in real-world conditions on the autobahn. Radical as this XKR Mk2 might seem at first, it could be considered the obvious next step in a quest for better performance, handling and brakes that started as soon as the original 2.4-litre Mk1 was launched in 1955. The basic package of compact monocoque saloonpredictable handling and a twin-cam, six-cylinder engine had obvious potential to motorists, specialist tuners and racers alike.
JAGUAR MK2 XKR   Engine 3996cc, V8, four overhead camshafts, 32 valve, fuel injection, Eaton M12 supercharger, two intercoolers Power and torque 37Obhp @ 6l5Orpm 3871b ft @ 3600rpm Transmission Five-speed automatic, limited slip differential, traction control Brakes Servo-assisted discs front and rear, with ABS Suspension Front: independent, double wishbones, coil springs, anti-roll bar, telescopic dampers. Rear: independent, lower wishbone, upper driveshaft link, radius arms, twin coll spring over telescopic damper units Weight 3362lb (1525kg) est Performance Top speed: 1 55mph O-60mph: 5.2 sec (est) Cost new £1556 (1963) Value POA
Jaguar soon built its own hot rods, first with 3.4-litre and then 3.8-litre engines while offering all-round disc brakes from l957 and altering the rear track and front wishbone angles to improve handling with the Mk2 bodyshell in l959. Of course, Jaguar beat Car Point to the idea of fitting a V8 engine to the Mk2 by nearly 40 years when it dropped in the Edward Turner-designed 2.5-litre V8 from the Daimler SP250 sports car. The result was more about refinement than performance. lt's a pity the 4.5-litre version from the Majestic Major didn't fit. Spend some time driving the Car Point Mk2 and you could all too easily take its capabilities for granted. Despite awe-inspiring figures like 370bhp and 387lb ft, this is no wild bot rod conversion. lt delivers its performance in such a civilised and well-contained package, free from the rough edges of similarly fast cars of the period, that it's much less of an adrenaline pill than it sounds on paper. But then that's the whole idea.
Thanks to: Keith Taylor of Souttiward Garage (01777 702841); Andreas Freund of CarPoint