Jag’s golden year

Press, 16 May 1985, Page 33

Jag’s golden year

A special Jaguar XJS Jubilee coupe is being produced by the well known British Jaguar specialist dealer, Guy Salmon, of Thames Ditton, to mark the company’s 50th anniversary. The company is producing just 25 of the special cars which feature 24 carat gold plated grille, bumper tops, side strips and door handles. The price is £40,434 (?NZ110,000). The annual insurance premium is not specified.

Queen Mary’s 1935 Daimler limousine has been restored in Britain after its exposure to the elements on the deck of the Queen Mary, now used as a museum in the United States. The museum of British Road Transport, at Coventry, acquired the car from the National Motor Museum, at Beaulieu, in the middle of last year.

Ford of Britain is follow-

ing New Zealand’s and Australia’s example and is producing a special edition of its Escort saloon and estate car and calling it the Laser 11. Based on the L Model, it will be offered in 1.3 and 1.6 litre petrol-engined forms, as well as a 1.6 litre diesel.

Special features include a body-contour air intake grille, special wheel covers, bodyside mouldings, additional driving lights, sunroof and upmarket upholstery and trim.

Options include automatic transmission with the 1.6 litre petrol engine, fivespeed gearbox on the 1.3 litre car and black or metallic paint.

There is hope for New Zealand petrol sellers, some of whom despondently believe that sales will fall now that the price in New Zealand has been increased to 99c a litre.

Figures issued by the Institute of Petroleum show that the demand for petrol rose by 3.4 per cent in 1984

to reach a record figure of 20 million tonnes, in spite of an upward trend in retail pricing. Of greater significance, however, diesel sales rose by 9.3 per cent to more than 6.7 million tonnes.

Fiat has unveiled a turbocharged version of its 1300 cu cm super mini, the Uno.

The Italian two-door hatchback retains the standard Uno engine block, but virtually every other comKnent is new. It features a Jit alloy cylinder head with a belt-driven overhead camshaft, Bosch LE-jetronic fuel injection, an IHI watercooled turbocharger, plus an intercooler and Marelli Microplex electronic ignition. This engine produces a remarkable 78kW (105 b.h.p.) at 5750 r.p.m. and 147 Nm of torque at 3200. That adds up to a maximum of 200km/n and a standstill to lOOkm/h acceleration time of 8.3 seconds.