Bonnet badges & leapers

[franrca]

Just looking at a US XJS that was crash damaged and has been nicely repaired and the aspect of the image that impressed most on me was the enormous leaper sitting on the bonnet.

I've read and heard lots of opinions on these from the fact that they should never be on an xjs as they a) weren't intended and b) wrong angle to leap from etc and on the other side that they should be on ALL Jaguars but aren't due to legislation some decades ago around health and safety or something.

I have my own opinion which is not positive and I know it's each to their own, but why do you never see an e-type owner adding a leaper?

General thoughts on this?

[Tintin]

https://jec.org.uk/news/2016/story-behi ... uar-leaper

Robbie

[Tintin]

and for more detail see.....http://www.exclusively-jaguar.co.uk/xjn ... ar-mascot/

R

[franrca]

Very interesting - thanks Robbie; clearly missed that.

[davidr]

I have a leaper that was fitted to the bonnet of my Celebration convertible by a previous owner behind the badge and I have to say I don't like it! The leaper obscures the lovely enamel and gold plate Celebration bonnet badge which is my principal objection. It's on my list to remove it but that will involve filling the drill holes in the bonnet and respraying it. That will mean going across the wing tops to blend the paint in which will be a bonus as it will also take out a blemish in the lacquer caused by a particularly caustic bird dropping! This won't be cheap so I've not rushed into it but it will be done one day.
I did have a leaper on the front of my 1989 V12 coupe but that was fixed in place of the badge using the standard holes so was always reversible (mostly for the MOT!) and looked better than the rather bland standard badge.
So for me, I can go either way depending on the car and the context.

[poprivet]

[greeban]

love it!

I do remember reading somewhere that if the mascot is an original fitment for a particular model then is OK but otherwise should not be added as creates a hazard to pedestrians.

[franrca]

The moggy is great will have to get my greyhound to pose on the bonnet next.

[BigCatXJS]

Also loving the cat pic! Shame about the inevitable claw scratches....

Personally, I dont think a mascot would look right on an e-type. The car was mostly about smooth curves and a bonnet ornament would probably look wrong (IMHO). The XJ-S has a more angular nose and so a small mascot looks less out of place. During the '80's the local Jaguar dealer in Eastbourne used to charge up to £400 to fit a mascot on new XJ-S. It looked fine from what I remember and also served as a useful driver aid for calculating where the end of the bonnet / front bumper was located for parking purposes I'm fairly sure that Jaguar stopped fitting mascots in the early '70s for the UK market - I'll defer to others greater knowlege on this point. As such any unofficial mascots (even spring loaded ones) should be declared for insurance purposes as its a modification.