Jaguar Legends Day at Simeone Museum to Feature Racing Great Brian Redman

PHILADELPHIA, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of the Jaguar XK-E – considered by no less an expert than Enzo Ferrari as "the most beautiful car ever made," – will be honored with a "Legends of Motorsport" weekend at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum, located here, on May 6th and 7th. The guest of honor for the event is famed racer Brian Redman, who began his career in motorsports piloting a "Lightweight" E-Type and who drove the Jaguar GTP car for the Group 44 team in the 1980s. Also featured will be the famous Group 44 Series III V-12 XK-E from the 1970s.

The event is sponsored by Jaguar Cars, and their local dealers: Jaguar Main Line, Wayne, Pa., and The Great Britains, Willow Grove, Pa.

The Legends weekend begins with an "Evening with Brian Redman" dinner on Friday, May 6th beginning with cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Dinner is followed by remarks from Redman about his distinguished driving career in both sports car racing and Formula cars.

Redman has won the Sebring 12-Hour race twice and the Formula 5000 championship three times. Tickets to the dinner are $75 each and include admission to the next day's presentation.

The Legends of Motorsport Demonstration Day on May 7th begins at Noon with a presentation in the main museum area by Dr. Simeone, concentrating on the origins and legacy of Jaguar's racing heritage. The Museum's 1953 C-Type Jaguar will be discussed followed by the 1956 D-type Jaguar – the racer that formed the basis for the production XK-E. Dr. Simeone will then interview Redman about his years racing at Sebring, Le Mans and in Formula One.

Jaguar Cars is also bringing the Series III V-12 E-Type that the Group 44 team campaigned in the "B" Production (BP) class of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). A Divisional champion in 1974, it went on to capture the SCCA's BP National Championship in 1975. A part of the permanent collection of the Jaguar Heritage Museum, the V-12 E-Type will return to the UK shortly after its appearance at The Simeone Museum to participate in this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The final portion of the event is the Demonstration run. The cars will be moved onto the 3-acre parking lot in back of the Museum where each, in turn, will be fired up and driven. The Simeone Museum is one of the few places in the world where visitors can see, hear and smell vintage race cars being run on a regular basis.

Born in Lancashire, Great Britain, Brian Redman had a highly successful career in sports car racing (Jaguar, Ford, BMW, Ferrari, Lola, Chevron and Porsche), Formula 5000 (Haas/Hall Chaparral) and Formula One (McLaren, Cooper, Shadow, BRM and Williams). He won the Formula 5000 championship three times (1974, 75, 76), Sebring twice (1975 and 1978), and the IMSA Camel GT championship in 1981. Today, he is active promoting vintage racing.

Admission to the May 7th Legends Demonstration day is included with regular museum admission: $12 adults; $10 senior; $8 students; children 8 and under are admitted free. More information on the Legends weekend is available on the Museum's Web site: www.SimeoneMuseum.org.

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum differs from most other automotive collections in that the cars are used to tell a story: that competition and racing improves the breed. Like Philadelphia's famed Barnes Foundation collection of paintings, the Simeone Foundation exhibition is a personal collection, acquired with a singular vision and specific ideas about how the collection should be arranged and exhibited. The central theme of the Simeone Foundation collection is "the spirit of competition."

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation and includes many of the most significant racing sports cars ever built. For more information call 215-365-7233, or visit the Web site at: www.simeonemuseum.org. The Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $12 adults, $10 seniors, $8 for students. Children under 8 are admitted free.

SOURCE Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC