RIP Tom and Chuck

The automotive world has lost two important figures this past week. Tom Walkinshaw and Chuck Jordan were both men of great achievement, but from very different backgrounds.

Tom Walkinshaw, who passed away at the age of 64, was one of the most successful team manager/owner/constructors in motorsport history, achieving victories in a wide array of formulae, but perhaps most notably with Jaguar's World Sports Car program in the 1980s and with Volvo's BTCC program in the 1990s.  He was also involved in F1 for many years at Benetton and other teams.  Also a driver of quality, here he is in a simply electrifying qualifying lap at the wheel of a Jag XJS, at Australia's Mount Panorama Circuit!

Chuck Jordan was hired at GM as a stylist under Harley Earl, and eventually worked his way up to that man's position over the course of more than 4 productive decades at General Motors. He was head of GM Styling from 1986-1992.

A true blue car designer of the "old way," Jordan fought GM management for creative control over design, and had famous disdain for focus groups and consumer testing that became  the norm at GM: "A good designer doesn’t need Mr. and Mrs. Zilch from Kansas telling him what to do," he once quipped in an interview.  Chuck Jordan passed away at the age of 83 last week.

Image credit: GM

Hat tip to Drew for the Walkinshaw video.

Gilded Moment of Zen

Has anyone out there heard about the Jaguar Mk2 show car where every chrome part was gold-plated?

Well, it still exists and I have seen it with my own eyes.

The Jaguar XF that should have been??

I have spent a fair amount of time soul searching over precisely why the new range of Jaguars just don't have that "IT" factor that a true Jag should have. Obviously the E-type was an incomparable paragon of beauty and line that Coventry never again equalled. But despite many attempts to recapture that swagger, I think even the latest family of Jags have a brutal look that isn't right for the brand.  The new XF and especially the XJ look sort of thuggish rather than lithe; more bulldog than jungle cat.  They're not bad designs per se. They just don't express the Jaguar ethos, in my opinion.

I was perusing the Tesla Motors website the other day and it hit me like a ton of bricks: The new Tesla Model S is EXACTLY what the new Jaguar XF should have looked like. It's aggressive, yet refined. It's sleek and athletic, and is just straddling the line between a GT and a sports saloon.  The grill opening recalls the E-type, but in a modern, abstracted way that feels totally fresh.  The gorgeous headlight clusters also capture the right "Jaguar gaze" utterly missing from the XF.  I think the car's design is a stellar effort, worthy of a major automaker like Jaguar. I photoshopped a jag badge bar in the photo above to help your imagination, but I think you'll agree there is just something about the Model S that hits the spot Jaguar's designers have consistently missed for all these years.

Or maybe I'm crazy...

Quite a model kit! The XKE Series III V-12 revealed!

The engine bay of a Series III V-12 E-type is of Byzantine complexity. But when you lay all the parts out like this, it looks like child's play doesn't it? That's because none of the crazy wiring and plumbing is present! I loved this photo, taken by Photographer Mike Dean at "The Sports Car Shop" in Eugene, OR.

Click here to see more extensive photosets of this remarkable E-type's full resto.

Via "The Chicane" hat tip to commenter Dan Crouch for the additional info!  Image Credit: Mike Dean

News Flash! Pirana Surfaces in the Desert!

If you read my recent articles about the Lamborghini Espada and its progenitor, the Bertone Pirana, you will recall that this Jaguar E-type-based, one-off show car had essentially been out of the public eye since Earl's Court Motor Show of 1967 and a few subsequent shows that year. My attempts to find modern photos of the car for the article had been unsuccessful. Then all of a sudden, BAM, the car appears on EBAY, and is located in Palm Springs, CA!!

Bring A Trailer broke the story, and I am just floored to find the car still exists, though it has been repainted a rather fetching shade of Green. Any bets on how much this exceedingly rare handmade prototype will sell for?? It's times like this I really wish I was a millionaire.

Update on Monday, October 11, 2010 at 5:34PM by Bradley Price

The Pirana's ebay auction ended with a high bid of 190K, but did not meet the reserve.  Item has been relisted with an opening bid of 150K.