Jaguar wins 'most spirited getaway' award

The light-hearted award is given to the driver judged to have made the most enthusiastic, crowd-pleasing departure up the notorious Goodwood Hill and this time it was a 1984 Jaguar XJS TWR.

Thanks to its 492PS race-specification V12, slick tyres and side-exit exhaust system that ensured a visual and aural spectacle. The 1984 Jaguar and chassis 005 of just seven produced was previously driven by Win Percy.

It was joined on the Goodwood Hill by the iconic Silk Cut Jaguar XJR-8/9 run by Don and Justin Law – the latter aiming to once again set the pace at the 2012 running of the event having completed the run in just over 44 seconds in previous years.

The honour, won last year by Touring Car driver Anthony Reid in an XFR, was won at the 2012 event by Alex Buncombe at the wheel of an XJS TWR owned by JD Classics.

The 2012 Festival of Speed takes place between June 28 and July 1 with crowds expected to number in excess of 1,80,000 over the three days.

The event will also celebrate significant current and future Jaguar cars. The XKR-S, the fastest Jaguar car in a generation, capable of accelerating to 100mph (160km/h) in a little over 8sec will take to the hill with Mike Cross at the wheel. Joining it will be the new XFR making its UK public debut–the same 517PS model having won the ‘Most Spirited Getaway’ at the Festival of Speed press day earlier in the year.

Likely to cause a stir will be the beautiful C-X75 concept car, which will be on display on the Jaguar stand. Serving as inspiration for a future, highly innovative road-going version being developed at the moment by Jaguar and Williams F1, the C-X75 embodies the key attributes of advanced, forward-looking design, innovation and engineering that made the E-type a world-beating sports car.