The First Big

Just then,Sir William Lyons masterpiece comes burbling into view,up to the hotel porch. At first,I can see only a part of the car,the nose and the windscreen. It looks like a silver sculpture,as headlights,bonnet and wings flow forward like a surfers dream wave breaking over. I see more of the car as I walk forward,and follow the line down the side. Magic.

The motor is ticking over extremely smoothly,with as much refinement as a modern car. Lyons had insisted that this was to be the first production engine in the world to have twin overhead camshafts and pushed hard to achieve his target. It takes a while to get used to the massive XXL pizza-sized steering wheel,the cutaway doors leave you feeling strangely exposed,and the first thing you see is the massive bonnet stretching far ahead of you with pontoon headlights poking out.

No modern car has such a long bonnet,and this takes some getting used to. My brain goes into a tailspin during the first few kilometres behind the wheel. More than anything else,this car rides and corners like the Ambassador in which I learned to drive. It feels that sloppy at low speeds. And for this,the once-fastest car in the world,ride quality is puzzlingly good. It takes all of Jaipurs bad patches in its stride,and the tall tyres and longish wheel base do a sterling job. The car first rolls a bit and then turns,theres quite some play in the system,and Lord help us if a stray runs out on to the road. You have to muscle the brake pedal to get the drums to work,exerting your hip too at times. And if you hit the brakes too hard,the cross-ply tyres will slide and make the Jag do the samba.

A wide circle comes up,and I gently ease the XK into the long corner. After the initial roll,the Jaguar settles down in the corner quite nicely,and I can even muster the courage to add a dash of power. As I get more confident and go faster,the car finally starts to come alive. The steering feels more direct,the car loses some of its ponderous manner and a semblance of a natural balance emerges.

Whats evident is that the XK motor is clearly the best bit on the car. It literally purrs in the lower part of the powerband and pulls cleanly,without any jerks,when you tap the throttle. Lyons had increased the stroke of the motor to improve torque output and this has worked a treat. The motor,however,does its best work once you pass 3,000rpm as the performance strengthens. The note of the motor deepens,you attain modern car levels of acceleration and the surge in power carries on as you wind up the tacho. Shes an old girl,but Id love to do an acceleration test. It feels like it can reach 100kph in just eight seconds,and there are not too many modern cars that can do that.

Though we dont reach near the mark 200 in a well-tuned car this speed feels possible. This was one of the first real supercars,a car worthy of the name. Come on Jaguar,build us another one.

(The writer is deputy editor,Autocar India)