Hi, Thanks to let me in... I have great interest for estates and shooting brakes conversions. I'm lucky to own 2 converted Jags and to use them quite intensively. Since 4 or 5 years I try to register the 67 XJS Eventers made by Lynx and the few others Jaguar converted to estates (there are 2 or 3 Mk IX, 1 Mk2, 2 XK 150, about 20 XJ Serie 3 and 3 XJ40, so not much to find but they are well hiden by their owners). I know there's 1 Eventer and 1 XJ40 Estate in US, I hope I'll find some links to their owners thanks to you...
Can you tell us more about the conversions? Please post some pictures in the gallery http://stationwagonforums.com/forums/gallery/ Merci.
Barto! I like that the Lynx site gives an explanation of the term "shooting brake". I never knew that. David
To go further in Shooting brake, love it or hate it but what is it ? Shooting brakes are cars with a squared-off rear. They generally have hatchbacks or a pair of side-hinged doors to make them practical. The same as an estate car or as a station wagon you’ll say! Yes, but... In the early 19th century, a brake was a large carriage-frame with no body, used for breaking in young horses. By the late 19th century the meaning had been extended to a large wagonnette designed for country use. A “shooting brake” carried a driver and gamekeeper facing forward and up to six sportsmen on longitudinal benches with their dogs, guns and game carried alongside in slat-sided racks. This is a real shooting brake ! In the 20’s the term applied to custom built 4 doors estate cars converted from luxury saloons for use by British hunters to carry dogs and guns. Basis was often Rolls Royce and Bentleys (but others are known). Coachwork was usually made from wood (but some were built with metal). These were “popular” in the British aristocracy until the 50’s years. Here is an Alvis TA14 shooting brake: Then arrived David Brown owner of Aston Martin who ordered his staff to build him a car to accommodate his pet dog. The answer was probably the first “modern” shooting brake: Aston Martin DB5 Shooting brake 1963. Have a look at http://www.pestalozzi.net/sb/am_db5/index.html All in 12 were made to please David Brown’s mates (among them the first one by Tickford and the 11 next by Radford). Others Aston Martin shooting brakes were produced, either with 2 or with 4 doors, and you can still order one to your own specs. http://carcatalog2.free.fr/sw3a.htm Aston Martin DB5 by Radford: Now and then a shooting-brake should be seen as an estate car converted from a coupe: fast, comfortable, from luxury origin and very exclusive. Yes but... There was already such a concept car, the Allard Safari. British car built in the early 50’s, the chassis came from an Allard racing car (adapted for road driving), the engine was a powerful American V8, the 2 doors body built on wood frame gave places for 6 to 8 persons. Only 10 were made, 3 are known to have survived. David Brown’s “modern” shooting brake was not first! Allard Safari 1954: Some shooting brakes are factory cars: Volvo P1800 ES, Reliant Scimitar GTE, Lancia HPE,... Volvo P1800 ES: And some custom build shooting brakes are 5 doors: Jaguar XJ by Avon and by Humberstone, Rolls Royce by Chelsea Garage,... Bentley S2 shooting brake: Back to our definition, what is or should be a shooting brake ??? It’s all in your eyes and in your mind !!! Some are luxury cars, some are not. Some are converted from coupes, others from saloons and some are factory designed. Some are designed with low lines, some with high shapes. Some are designed with long rear windows, some are not. Some with rear access to roomy space to load lot of stuff, and some not. Some with a powerful engine and some with a basic 4 pots But all of them look different from usual Estates, different from classical station wagons, far away from modern hatchbacks, at the opposite of vans or delivery cars. In my garage the XJS Eventer by Lynx is called a shooting brake, the XJ12 by Chris Humberstone is called an estate.
to the wagon train, Barto. I had an XJS and never dreamed it could be a wagon. That is just too cool!
Thanks Silverfox ! And there's at least one XJS shooting brake in Massachussetts. If anybody around here know it or meet it, please tell me...
