This past Saturday, we had the opportunity to enjoy some very fine vehicles thanks to the Jaguar Alive Driving Experience. The event consisted of about 3 hours worth of fun, from brief but informative videos and speakers, to lots of driving ranging from graceful real world driving, to some adrenaline-pumping autocross (above) and drag strip racing in several of their 500+ HP beasts. Hosted just outside of Orlando, the two and a half hour drive from Jacksonville was most certainly and unequivocally worth it!
Our slot was 10:30, so we arrived a bit early, to the site of one of the 550HP XKR-S supercars taking off down the drag strip, belching an other-worldly exhaust note that instantly put a smile on my face. From there, we entered the event space, went through a brief registration and were escorted into the venue to peruse some of the displays while waiting our turn out on the pavement. Included in the showroom was the brand new F-Type (below) – the first roadster Jaguar has produced in almost 40 years – and let me tell you, by the looks of it, the car is well worth the wait.
And now for the fun stuff – After our brief introduction to Jaguar, we went out and saw what these things could do. First was the everyday road demonstration – we were in an XJL – a gigantic specimen of an executive car, but with 510 HP, it was surprisingly agile and scary fast. From there we tried out the all weather course which featured simulated ice, soft sand, and Jaguar’s all new all wheel drive system. We also tried out an XJ, XKR Convertible and XF on their refinement course, and then moved on to the really fun stuff – a 0-60+ MPH (I hit 78) run in the XKR-S, and finally a three lap timed autocross competition on their tight and technical course in an XFR.
When all was said and done, we each drove 7 cars totaling in excess of $750,000 and best of all we didn’t crash a one! Enjoy the photos!
Copyright 2012 Deremer Studios – Jacksonville, FL
Check us out at: Pro.DeremerStudios.com (Commercial) or DeremerStudios.com (Wedding & Portrait) | 904-744-1103 | nate@deremerstudios.com
Beautiful cars!! Great photos!!
The F-Type is a stunner, really!
[…] i felt a bit more at home. Though I’ve had similar track time only once before (See our Jaguar Alive Coverage from earlier this year), I was able to manage a respectable 5th place in a group of about 60 […]