Jaguar bonnet mascot

[trevor.pocklington781]

I would like to mount a Jaguar bonnet mascot on my 2007 S type. Can anyone advise if this is allowed. I seem to remember being told that this type of attachment was no longer allowed on accident safety grounds particularly with regards to pedestrians. If it is allowed where could I purchase the genuine article from. Many thanks Trevor.

[J44EAG]

Its all about current and indeed past Construction and Use Regs, Trevor.

Leapers were banned after 1969 in the UK. After that, no car ever left the factory with one fitted. The Americans liked leapers so anything you see on Stateside web sites would have been fitted in the USA where their Regs were different.

Fitting of a leaper on a Jaguar made after 1969 is now seen in UK Law as contravening C&S Regs. Whilst no one appears to ever have been killed or maimed by a Jaguar leaper, fitting one could land you in a bit of trouble. Certainly there was a very keen Police officer in Doncaster at one time who took great delight in nicking Jaguar owners who had fitted a leaper to post 1969 cars!

Also note that your insurance company should be informed of any modification to your car. That includes a leaper.

Included in the Regs are bull bars, large bonnet mounted flying salmon and other mascots such a large brass stags with huge antlers...there used to be an old Land Rover on the Quantocks with a huge bronze stag bristling with forward pointing antlers. The mascot stood about a foot high. How the owner got away with that, I shall never know!

Mike K

[trevor.pocklington781]

Mike
Many thanks for this excellent information. A little disappointing but safety is safety and I am glad I checked it out. Maybe I will buy one on a suitable mount and keep it on my desk !!!!
Thanks again.
Trevor.

[jeff1954]

If you want to see the leaper through the windscreen whilst you are driving, as you could with earlier cars ie Mk 2. S Type ect you have to mount it to far up the bonnet because of the downward slope. Which then viewed from the outside looks a bit silly. If you mount it down near the grill you can't see it whilst driving. To me anything like a leaper a Mercedes star or a Bentley B should be visual through the windscreen whilst driving along. But that's just my opinion.

Jeff

[trevor.pocklington781]

Jeff
Thank you for your interest and you make a good point. However I have decided against on the basis of safety. I will get one for my desk where I will be able to see it all the time.
Regards
Trevor

[jeff1954]

OK Trevor. Just make sure that your boss is not about when you drill the hole through the desk to fit it.

[trevor.pocklington781]

That's the way to do it

Hole in desk.jpg (6.81KiB)Viewed 4460 times

[RichardSEL]

Rolls Royce's Spirit of Ecstacy and Bentley's Flying B collapsable mascots are however permitted as they wont slice a flying cyclist as they jump the lights with impunity
I imagine that it'd be a Construction & Use issue with regard to a leaper with similar mechanism fitted
assuming that a stop is performed on that basis

There's a facility on later VWs to switch on daylight running lights being indicators always on at low level with full level for indicating. I got a tug for that one (producer only). Others have been pulled for turn enhancement -- fog light switched on in sympathy with direction indicators

Meantime, knife crime <mutter, mutter>

[jeff1954]

Hear Hear.

Jeff