Jaguars on the Island and the Oak Bay Car Collector Festival brought a different kind of heat to Windsor Park and Oak Bay Avenue last weekend, assembling hundreds of awe-inspiring vintage vehicles that drew the gapes and attention of thousands.

Over at the park on Saturday, several rows of Jaguars categorized by E-Types, modern and classic sedans, XJ6s, SUVs and other models from across generations lined the grass.

B次元官网网址淰ictoriaB次元官网网址檚 got a strong car culture,B次元官网网址� said Jaguars on the Island co-chair Paul Seguna.

On special display in the middle of Windsor Park sat Doug IrvingB次元官网网址檚 trio of royal Jaguars.

Every year, from May to October, Irving pulls the covers off his three ladies: A 1950 Mark V Saloon (Elizabeth), 1962 Mark II Saloon (Margaret) and 2002 XKR Convertible (Diana).

B次元官网网址淚 like to give them new life,B次元官网网址� said Irving, who also made an appearance at the Oak Bay Collector Car Festival.

B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 want to see (a Jaguar) go to the crusher or get rusted out.B次元官网网址�

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Elizabeth (27,000 miles) came B次元官网网址渙ozing with lifeB次元官网网址� from the an iconic British era B次元官网网址� Irving pointed to Coventry, England B次元官网网址搈uch like 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II. Margaret (74,000 miles), taken under IrvingB次元官网网址檚 wing after it sat in a barn for 15 years, tells a different story.

B次元官网网址漇heB次元官网网址檚 certainly classy, but she moves with a different crowd,B次元官网网址� he said, likening her to Princess Margaret and adding that the Mark IIB次元官网网址檚 motor enables her to still hit 160 km/h at 60 years of age.

Diana (68,000 miles), which he picked up in the Californian desert, came equipped with an all-aluminum supercharged motor and, as he put it, equated the speed of the Princess of Wales.

But during the fall, winter and spring, B次元官网网址渁ll three of them donB次元官网网址檛 see the light of day,B次元官网网址� as Irving said adding even 500 miles a year is a lot to ask of them.

He acquired his first Jaguar B次元官网网址� a four-door, six-straight cylinder 1988 XJ6 B次元官网网址� in 1991 and subsequently owned a dark blue 1966 XKE and 2003 carnival red XJ Vanden Plas, for 14 years. He handed the latter over to his son with 3,400 kilometres.

B次元官网网址淚 have a philosophy basically that I have this love of all Jaguars.B次元官网网址�

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His Mark V, born the same month as his wife, was given up by the woman who owned it the last 46 years. Irving put the car in his wifeB次元官网网址檚 name to keep the tradition of female owners running and struck gold when he found what he described as a treasure chest in the back. It carried the carB次元官网网址檚 original B.C. licence plate, spare factory parts and the entire service manual and recorded 72-year history of the vehicle.

B次元官网网址淔rom my perspective, itB次元官网网址檚 really about the aesthetic of them,B次元官网网址� Seguna said, gazing out onto the shiny Jaguar-laden field.

Do you have a story tip? Email: evert.lindquist@blackpress.ca.

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