You can imagine the charged atmosphere, even among a bunch of hardened CAR writers. There were 29 of the most exciting cars on sale, each with their keys in, ready to roll out onto the smoothly snaking Anglesey tarmac – and we’d each already had a life-affirming journey through Wales to get there.
But one car wanted to spoil the mood. One car promised 416bhp from its supercharged V8. One car wanted to lock its doors despite the ‘keyless go’ cartridge sitting innocently on the centre console. That car was the Jag XKR-S.
Cue groans and much head-scratching. Then a plan. The Jag’s got frameless door glass. Surely it’s easier to prise away from its seal than a conventional door? And don’t we have some photographers’ glazing clamps around? All we need is some welding wire…
Duly armed, it took one bloke to create a half-inch gap between window and seal while the other fished and ferreted to tweak and twist the inner door-handle. Phew.
Thing is, it didn’t only happen the once. Oh no. Despite efforts to remember NEVER TO SHUT THE JAG’S DOOR, it happened three times. On the third occasion, it was me – and I’d remembered. So I just let the door close once click. It was enough. Damn. Out came the clamps and the wire and, as I pulled the door open, I actually saw the lock lever re-engage itself. Proof we weren’t mad.
Proof, too, that even a £71k sports car isn’t immune to electronic glitches – nor to the straying hands of passing amateur thieves.
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