I'm lucky enough to be available to drive a friend's C class as he is unable to go. The Rally starts in Mesa AZ and goes into the White Mountain, to Greer, in eastern AZ. Two days of pine forests and twisty roads and then onto Sedona and the magical vortices of the red mountains. I'll post photos when we get back.
Here is the beauty I'm driving Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
If someone as erudite about Jaguars has to ask...... It's a rally for C and D "TYPE" Jaguars, including XKSS Jags, which as everyone who has a clue about Jags knows , is a road version of the D type, of which about 17 were produced. Hopefully one day I will be able to gather this kind of knowledge.
The tour went from Mesa to Greer, and then drove on the Coronado Trail, a 300 mile loop through some of the most challenging twisty pine forest roads. Dropping from an altitude of over 9,000 feet at Blue Vista to less than 4,500 feet at the Morenci Copper mine, and then back through New Mexico, to Alpine AZ and returning to Greer. The cars were all in their element, and there was no traffic on the road allowing racing lines through the turns. This road has a real rhythm to it, moving left to right and back again and changing elevation through every turn. No guardrails here and steep drop-offs at every curve. Exhilarating! The Copperstate Rally is following the same route, but the driving will be far less spirited, I'm sure. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Literally LOL! Sounds amazing! What an incredible experience, thank you for sharing and fantastic photos!
Thanks for the great photos (although wishing for higher resolution). Terry did my E-type. Was Norman Dewis there this year ?
He was. He is a great storyteller. He told us he owns the record for Jaguar test driver miles - 1,250,000 miles on track! At an average speed of over 100MPH!!! Dayum! Double Dayum!! He has literally tested every car that was on the C & D Tour and he has stories about each one. He knows them like people know their children.
Really amazing guy. I hope he has enough years left for me to have the chance to meet him. If you don't already have it, his book with Paul Skilleter is beautifully produced. Terry can get you a signed copy. Any remarks on the experience of driving the "C" ?
The C is nearly 60 years old, yet it performs as well as any modern car. This particular car is perfectly maintained by the owner and his very skilled technicians. There was never a moment of concern about the car, even 'though we were at altitudes over 9,000 feet and running very hard. The SU carbs just seem to do very well at compensating for the thin air and the car never felt like it was breathing hard. The Coronado trail is a perfect road for a rally of older cars. They have enough power to get up to exciting speeds but not enough to overwhelm moderate driving skills. The car is perfectly balanced and goes where it is pointed. It needs to stay in an optimum rev range of between 2800 and 4000 for it to really feel free. There are so many twists and turns here and each one is accompanied by a change in elevation. Really thrilling. The road is remote and basically goes nowhere so there is hardly any traffic. We were able to take racing lines through the corners which made the car feel even better as it was always perfectly positioned to exit each corner under hard acceleration. The whole 300 mile drive could be done in 3rd and 4th, juggling the gears to keep the revs where you wanted them. This particular car is not maintained as a high performance racer, rather a grand tourer, but it kept up with the highly tuned D Types all day.
Appreciate the insights. Two years ago I was shown and seriously considered a Peter Jaye replica "C" that had enough original components to qualify for the tour, but I went instead with a MM-eligible Maserati. Your description leaves me wishing that I'd pursued both. Thanks for sharing your great experience in an event that is not widely known.
Hah! Hoisted by my own snarky petard! Oh well, considering how much I follow Mercedes, I could've just as well misspelled "AMG."
