On April 24, at HSR’s Road Atlanta “Mitty” event, Jaguar North America pulled the wraps off of a pair of historic XKE racers that will be campaigned throughout 2003 with sponsorship from Jaguar’s Select Edition Certified Pre-Owned vehicle program. According to Steve McKnight, Jaguar Vice-President for Remarketing, “We see our involvement with historic racing as not only increasing awareness of Jaguar’s Select Edition program, but as a means of building closer ties with many Jaguar owners clubs and Jaguar enthusiasts across the country.”
The two-car team will be made up of a 1967 XKE open roadster that was prepared, from new, as a racecar by Huffaker Engineering and possesses a long and successful race career. The sister car is an early 1961 hardtop roadster that was converted over for historic racing in the ’80s and has seen two decades of competition within SVRA and HSR. The two-car “Select Edition” race team will be prepared by Donovan Motorcar Services of Lenox, Massachusetts and will be driven by well-known East coast historic racers Bob Hebert and Jack Busch.
Jaguar’s 2003 historic race program calls for the team to take part in nine historic racing events all across the United States, as well as several appearances at Jaguar ride and drive events supporting the launch of the new XJ sedan.
When asked why Jaguar had chosen historic racing to promote their certified pre-owned program, McKnight quipped, “What better way to highlight the quality of our pre-owned cars than to demonstrate that even 30-year-old Jaguars are still running strong and competitive!”
