Just as the news of the sale of Jaguar to Indian private equity company Tata comes through, we hear news that the fastest ever Jaguar is being launched.

Supercar Jaguar XK, billed as the fastest ever Jag

Yahoo News comments : “Jaguar has unveiled its fastest ever production car since the XJ220 supercar. The XKR-S is based on the standard Jaguar XKR, but a series of enhancements boost its performance and improve its focus as a drivers’ car.

“The supercharged engine produces 420bhp, the ECU recalibrated to allow the XKR-S to reach a maximum of 174mph and sprint to 62mph in just 5.2 seconds.

“Although there’s no boost in power, Jaguar promises that the 200 limited series run of XKR-S models will provide their drivers with greater thrills behind the wheel. ”

It looks a dream, but with American, now Indian, ownership it scarcely qualifies as an English classic any more.

What would Inspector Morse make of it all?

Brooklands — The Official Centenary History by David Venables is a stunning book to look at. It’s also the definitive account of this magical and historic place. Anyone who knows about motor racing will have heard of Brooklands in southern England.

The author, though, goes beyond the glories of its competitive past and looks at all aspects of Brooklands’ activities. This is a large subject, for it includes motocycle racing, land speed records, manufacturing and aircraft testing, stunts and scandals. It was a hotbed of engineering skills and innovation in its day.

A glance at the appendices tells it all : Outer Circuit lap records, long-distance race winners, maps of how Brooklands evolved over time, aircraft made there.

At the recent Brooklands Centenary Festival, more than 20,000 people visited, demonstrating its perennial appeal.

Our last post, which showed a Ferrari Enzo after it had been hit by a bus and careered into a VW Golf, didn’t perhaps illustrate the car at its best.

Here’s the rundown of this tip-top model :

Named after company founder Enzo Ferrari, the Ferrari Enzo was built in a limited run of 399, with an extra car that was offered to the Pope. It is an outstanding expression of the concept of extreme sportiness, developed for road use, yet epitomizing the most advanced concepts of Formula 1 racing technology.

Ferrari set out to develop the Ferrari Enzo as an integrated system designed for extreme performance, in which even the limits of the performance achievable by the driver were enhanced, thanks to a man-machine interface typical of Formula 1.

Make and Model: Ferrari Enzo
Engine Type: 6-liter V-12
Torque: 485lb-ft@5500rpm
Acceleration 0-60: 3.6 s
Suspension: 4-wheel independant
Wheel Base: 104.33 inches
List Price: $652,000
Horsepower: 660bhp@7800rpm
Top Speed: 217 mph
Brakes: Brembo 4-wheel vent. disc
Transmission: 6-speed Electrohydraulic
Weight: 3009 lbs.

Useful little runabout, maybe?

When you own a rare supercar of which only 399 were made, you may like to think that you’re the one capable of driving “like a bat out of hell”. However, businessman Frank Mountain has issued a High Court writ, claiming a reckless bus driver has wrecked his £600,000 ($1,150,000) hand-built Ferrari Enzo.

The tycoon, who was in the passenger seat, was being driven to a race track by a Ferrari dealer. The writ claims the crash cost more than £300,000 in repairs and related expenses, including compensation for loss of earnings when the owner had to travel to Italy to pick up the vehicle, loss of use of the Ferrari and a drop in the car’s value. “As a consequence of the collision the airbags inflated and the Ferrari filled with smoke and dust, rendering the driver unable to see and causing the Ferrari to collide with the VW Golf.” The Golf was written off.

The bus driver said, “My wife Christina was furious. She said, ‘You couldn’t have been in an accident with anything cheap could you?’”

Wilts and Dorset bus company, whose driver was involved, dispute the claim. Finance Director Matt Dolphin said: “We have filed a counter claim.”

All that fuss over a car!