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Jaguar fanatics hit the grass Saturday in Oak Bay

Windsor Park show features ’40s and ’50s Jaguar vintages
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Jaguar Car Club of Victoria member Doug Irving poses with his 1950 Jaguar Mark V, which he calls “Elizabeth” after Queen Elizabeth 2. The Jaguars on the Island car show returns to Windsor Park this Saturday (July 23), uniting hundreds of attendees and more than 100 Jaguars from as early as the ’40s. (Courtesy of Doug Irving)

Victoria’s Jaguars on the Island rolls into Oak Bay this weekend, bringing hundreds of attendees and car owners, from multi-generational Jaguar owners to newcomers to the vintage car fraternity.

The free Concours d’Elegance takes place at Windsor Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday (July 23). Co-chair Paul Seguna looks forward to the event’s return after “two years of being in the deep freeze” amid COVID-19.

“There’s a real desire in the community to get out there again.”

With the show amassing more than 100 vehicles this year, Seguna said it “really punches above its weight.” Jaguar Clubs of North America (JCNA) bills the event as the largest annual Jaguar meet in Canada and the U.S., attracting owners from as far as Washington, Oregon and California.

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The fledgling Canadian Prairies Jaguar Club has helped draw traffic this year from Alberta and Saskatchewan in particular.

Jaguar XK120s, XK140s and XK150s from the ’40s and ’50s will have a real presence in this show, while Mark Vs from the ’40s, E-Types from the ’60s and ’70s, XJs from the ’70s and ’90s and electric F-Types from the 2010s are also entered.

“They have to meet pretty strict judging requirements,” Seguna said, adding that some owners relish the competition while those newer to the Jaguar fraternity like him attend for fun. “I’m kind of an accidental Jaguar owner.”

For a “very reasonable price,” Seguna bought what he defines as an XJ40 off a colleague’s family at the end of his 42-year service for the Royal Canadian Navy. The wife of the late owner didn’t drive the car herself and, knowing Seguna had spent time in London, U.K., figured he’d appreciate a British car.

Seguna, who likes to compare the classic look of Jaguars to the Second World War-era aviation design of the Spitfire, predicted upwards of 600 attendees at this year’s event.

“In the course of a day, we’d be looking at somewhere in the range of a 1,000.”

Turnout aside, the point of Jaguars on the Island remains getting cars out onto the grass and under the sun in a public event and fundraiser for Victoria Hospice.

“(My Jaguar is) the first car I’ve sort of driven around and you do notice people looking at it.”

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Jaguar Car Club of Victoria member Douglas Irving returns this year to put his gleaming trio of automobiles on central display at Windsor Park. Irving sports a mix of a 1950 Mark V, 1962 Mark II and 2002 XKR Convertible that he respectively names Elizabeth, Margaret and Diana after the Royal Family members he feels best personify them.

“I like to give them new life,” he said.

“You don’t want to see (a Jaguar) go to the crusher or get rusted out.”

Jaguar owners who aren’t JCNA members can register at the show between 8 and 9 a.m. Saturday for $25.

For more information, visit jaguarclubvictoria.ca.


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