A DRIVE OF A LIFETIME - COUNTDOWN TO THE START
14 May 2015
The 1,000-mile Mille Miglia classic car rally kicks-off today in Brescia, Italy and Kim McCullough, Vice President, Marketing, Jaguar Land Rover North America, along with her husband Mitch, will be on the start line in their 1954 Jaguar XK120 roadster.
Here Kim tells us about last-minute preparations, the pre-rally atmosphere and learning to wrestle with the XK120’s ship-like steering wheel.
Any last-minute nerves?
Of course. The over-powering excitement of the whole event is mixed with just a hint of apprehension. Ahead of us are two long days - Friday and Saturday will be 12 to 15 hours of driving, and let’s not forget we’re driving a car that’s 61-years-old. Yesterday we got to put some miles on our XK120, getting to know its quirks, its personality, feeling how the brakes react, learning the nuances of the gearshift and the feel of the unassisted steering - I do believe it has the largest steering wheel ever fitted to a car. It was a little like going on a first date, getting to know each other, taking things slow.
How does your XK120 drive?
It’s wonderful, better than we imagined. There’s a technique to shifting gears smoothly - there’s no synchromesh with the gearbox, so it’s easy to crunch, and the first-to-second shift definitely requires a certain technique, but the 3.4-liter straight-six XK engine is as smooth as silk and has so much torque. I think what surprised Mitch and I the most was how comfortably it rides. It’s almost to the point of being soft, which will be great on the longer driving days. We did practice putting up the canvas top, which hopefully we won’t need to put up on the rally as it’s definitely a two-person job and requires at least five minutes of pushing and pulling. We might buy an umbrella.
What’s the atmosphere like in Brescia as the start gets close?
There’s definitely an electricity here. Yesterday we took the car for scrutineering at the Fiera di Brescia expo-center and we’re amongst over 400 of some of the world’s most legendary sports and race cars ever built. Everywhere you turn there is another Bugatti, famous Ferrari, Maserati or iconic Mercedes-Benz. Jaguar has brought along no fewer than nine of its most-celebrated Heritage models from the 1950s, including the 1953 C-type that raced in the original Mille Miglia. It was quite a sight.
With those race numbers on the hood and doors, your XK120 is looking very sporty.
I don’t think we’ll ever take them off. That’s part of the reason we wanted to do the event in our own car. I know that back home, every time we’ll walk into the garage and see the car, we’ll be able to re-live the event. We’ve also attached some very special badges to the front. In the center is the lovely Jaguar Clubs of North America badge - since the JCNA heard Mitch and I were doing the Mille, we’ve had so many messages of support and encouragement. To the left is the badge of the VSCCA - the Vintage Sports Car Club of America that Mitch is very involved with. The wonderful steering-wheel badge on the right is the original Jaguar badge that came with the car back in 1954. We’re proud to be carrying them.
How was the famous Jaguar pre-Mille Miglia dinner last night?
They hold it at this lovely old Italian restaurant - La Sosta. It was a great opportunity to talk to many of the other drivers, like our Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Ralf Speth who will be driving a 1953 XK120 and five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell who is driving a 1953 Jaguar C-type. We shared a table with Jaguar Director of Design and D-Type driver, Ian Callum who gave us great advice: savor the moment and enjoy the experience.
What’s the plan for today and the big start?
It’s the traditional ‘Sealing Ceremony’ in Piazza Vittoria right in the center of Brescia, where all the cars have a seal attached to their steering column. The idea goes back to the original race in 1927 when engines were sealed to prevent modifications. It’s also the first time the public gets to see all the cars and, being Italian and car-lovers, we’re told they get very excited. The first car leaves at 2:30pm and our car is number 318 so it will likely be a late-afternoon start for us. The first day’s route takes us from Brescia, through ancient Verona, Ferrara and Ravenna, probably arriving at the first night’s stop in Rimini at around 1am. We cannot tell you how thrilled and excited we are to be doing this.