The Group C and IMSA GTP era of sports car racing was truly a golden age, and few teams reached the level of success and admiration as Tom Walkinshaw Racing, whose factory Jaguar programs took on the very best on both sides of the Atlantic. For the first time, the whole history of this iconic team has been told, with author Neil Smith going beyond race results and car specifications to uncover the fascinating stories, anecdotes, and intrigue from those who were there. On the Prowl - The Definitive History of the Walkinshaw Jaguar Sports Car Team is out now, so we interviewed the author, Neil Smith, about how he went about compiling this impressive book.

You don’t need us to tell you that there are quite literally seismic changes happening to Jaguar currently as it embarks upon the reimagination of the brand and vehicle lineup.

Jaguar’s unveiling of its refreshed brand and the launch of the Type 00 concept car meant that even people normally totally oblivious to all things motoring suddenly had an opinion on Jaguar.

The previous range of models has reached a dignified conclusion as the sun sets on Jaguar's former era, and the brand is now confronting the issue of its future survival head-on. Government pressures, the relentless drive towards EVs and, of course, the sad fact of failing sales on its existing lien meant that Jaguar had to do something bold, creative and radical.

We were offered an amazing opportunity here on the Jaguar Enthusiast Podcast to interview the man who was leading the company through this pivotal moment in its history, Managing Director Rawdon Glover. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, and he is also a keen tennis player, skier and golfer.

I arrived at what is now familiar territory to Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine - Jaguar’s HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire. On the day of our interview, the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust were busy wheeling in examples of models from over the road for a curated

display of heritage vehicles, and, as usual, they were drawing a crowd from the many passing employees in this hub of activity. It was an apt backdrop to what I needed to understand from Rawdon regarding Jaguar’s heritage. Have they really abandoned the past, like so many other media outlets claim they have, and reverted to how they were when the X-Type was launched? This was a particularly bleak time in Jaguar’s history for appreciation of its heritage where sales teams, marketing departments and even dealerships were forbidden from talking about E-types and the like, denying all knowledge of the past as they focused on the future of this Ford controlled brand with a modern F1 team. Under Tata ownership, Jaguar’s important heritage has seen something of a resurgence, so would this continue into the new era?

So settle back and enjoy this insightful interview with Jaguar’s MD, Rawdon Glover, as we attempt to answer some of those burning questions. I must add, before we start, however, that this interview was recorded before the announcement of Trump’s tariffs for imported goods into the USA, a major market for JLR. The impacts of that remain to be seen at the time of recording.

Early on a stunningly sunny Saturday morning in March, Jaguars started to arrive at Podium Café on the outskirts of Newbury for the inaugural JEC Cars and Coffee meet. It was to be a wonderful morning of celebration, coffee and cakes! There was something for everyone, from the feature display of TWR Jaguars to the diversity of cars, from the oldest, a Mark IV, to the latest F-PACE SVRs.

Visitors enjoyed tours of the new TWR performance facility where the XJS Supercat is built, and we were joined for talks by Jaguar celebrities, including the former Chief Engineer of TWR during the 1988 and 1990 Le Mans wins, Alastair MacQueen - our guest of honour.

In this episode, we meet some of those present at this first Cars and Coffee Meet including, Alastair Macqueen (Former TWR Chief Engineer), Richard West (Former TWR Marketing Director), James Blackwell (JEC General Manager), Matthew Davis (MD, Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust) and a whole host of owners.