Motoring: Battle of the giants

When I was young I knew an elderly Scottish gentleman who had the good sense to fall for and marry, despite his advanced years, an American widow of verve and charm. Nor did he lack those qualities himself: although half crippled by childhood polio, he became a pilot and a keen motorist. His cars smelt intoxicatingly of Turkish cigarettes.

At that time his stable included a Jaguar XJ Series 1 (1968–73) and a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow of similar vintage. I was somewhat in awe of the latter but he insisted the former was the better drive and kindly let me canter each over those empty winding Speyside roads. He was right.

The XJ was a sensation at its launch, a kind of automotive Usain Bolt that, at a stroke, changed the game. The last model designed under the influence of Sir William Lyons, Jaguar’s founder, in subsequent V12 form it became the world’s fastest saloon.