Legendary race driver Stirling Moss in his awesome D-Type Jaguar.
Legendary race driver Stirling Moss in his awesome D-Type Jaguar.
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Legendary Formula One race driver Sir Stirling Moss and the British police have had a bit of argy-bargy on Yorkshire roads - all in the name of fun, of course.
Patrol cars escorting Moss' D-Type Jaguar on a drive through Bradford to a new conference centre entered intothe spirit of things with pretend passing manoeuvres.
One second, a police car would rev up and briefly break ranks. The next, Moss would gun the 50-year-old racing Jaguar and surge forward. Crowds lining the streets along the way loved every minute of it.
Moss headed a cavalcade of historic Jaguars from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust en route to the opening in the city of a new motoring-themed conference centre, Europe's first such facility.
Jaguars in the convoy included an XK 120 - NUB 120 - that won rallies in Britain in the 1950s; a C-Type that raced in the Italian Mille Miglia in 1953; the James Bond XKR from the film Die Another Day and the XKR Shaguar used to promote the Austin Powers film Goldmember.
Tony O'Keeffe, curator of the trust, said: "It is not often that people get the chance to see famous cars like this actually driving together on ordinary streets. The fact that Sir Stirling headed the convoy in the famous D-Type that won the 12-hour race at Reims in 1956, made history in its own right."
The new conference and training centre houses millions of dollars worth of classic vehicles. Its walls feature images of famous British drivers and international motor racing action.
Companies who hire it for corporate dinners, product launches, fashion shows or other flashy events will be surrounded by motoring memorabilia.
One of the first companies to book the building is Jaguar itself _ for the 60th anniversary this year of the XK 120 model.
