The most expensive “Mondeo” in the world? Real X-Type goes up for auction.
Photos: Historic Auctioneers
Queen Elizabeth II led the country's destinies for 70 years, going through turbulent times and great challenges. Naturally, anyone who is capable of this is also capable of driving their own car. That being said, it never ceases to be a source of astonishment that one of the most powerful and media-centric figures in the world has always made a point of driving his own cars, despite all the security and protocol measures involved in the role.
The image of the Queen has always been associated with her Land Rovers, from the Defender to the more imperial Range Rover. However, one of its faithful companions in recent decades has been the lighter and more agile Jaguar X-Type estate car, a relatively unlikely choice. It is true that the Queen had esteem for the British brand (in fact, it was an XJ that took her to her final home...), but the X-Type was perhaps the least noble of all the brand's models.
Launched in 2001, during the period in which Jaguar belonged to the Ford Group, the X-Type generated some controversy as it was the brand's first model with front-wheel drive. This is because, in its eagerness to save Jaguar from an imminent end, Ford blindly threw itself into an economy of scale dynamic, basing this would-be rival to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class on the platform of the boring Mondeo.
Let's be honest: the Mondeo wasn't even a bad car, but the idea of a Jaguar with a TDCi engine and full of Ford buttons in the cabin wasn't something that was part of the imagination of an enthusiast of the feline brand. Especially in a model that tried, in a somewhat crude way, to immortalize the aesthetic language of the old XJ6. The X-Type was designed by Simon Butterworth, Tadeusz Jelec and Wayne Burgess. However, the derivation to the Estate version was Ian Callum's first intervention at Jaguar's service. A complete, courageous and belated transformation of Jaguar's image would follow.
As expected, the version used by the Queen of England was the top of the range: Sovereign equipment level, integral transmission and powered by the V6 Ford Duratec, in the 3-liter version, with heads redesigned by Jaguar and a variable valve opening system. , which produces 231 hp. The transmission is a five-speed automatic, although the Queen was a self-confessed fan of manual transmission, having even asked to convert one of her Land Rovers from an automatic transmission to a manual transmission.
Her Majesty's X-Type is in the classic "Emerald Fire" color and has a remarkable 73,000 miles (around 120,000km), a surprising number, especially if we consider that the monarch used other cars at the same time and that this was one of two vans the same as it had.
Anyone wishing to purchase this example can do so through the Historic Auctioneers auction taking place on November 26th.
The van is delivered without the private registration plate with which it served Queen Elizabeth, but with the original keys, all purchase and maintenance documents and, possibly, some "real" Corgi fur.
