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Follow Idris Elba and the new Jaguar XE across Europe — episode three live now

26 February, 2015

British actor and DJ Idris Elba, best known for his roles as Nelson Mandela in the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, and Baltimore drug lord Russell ‘Stringer’ Bell in the HBO TV series The Wire — has been appointed by Jaguar to drive a diesel-powered Jaguar XE.

It’s not just any old drive, though. Idris has been tasked with the 1000km drive from London to Berlin, where he has been booked to DJ at the XE’s European launch. The trip will see Idris travel across four countries over the course of three days, and Jaguar will be releasing a series of short films documenting the journey.

The first instalment has Idris introduced to the XE, where he is wowed by the car’s connectivity and cutting-edge technological features.

“I’m looking forward to it ‘cause it’s got a lot of gadgets in it, and I’ve got a playlist to get together. I can just connect it to the internet and do my playlist while I’m driving, without taking my eyes off the road,” he says.

Find episodes one and two below. We’ll keep you informed when the next ones are available. They promise a refreshing, modern take on the iconic trans-Europe road trip.  

Episode one:

Episode two:

Episode three:

A second dose of Dash

24 April, 2025

When the car arrived in Wellington in December 2018 it was duly taken along for entry certification. Vehicle Inspection NZ (VINZ) found some wrongly wired lamps and switches — not too bad — but, much more significantly, some poor welding repairs. As the structural problems were probed more thoroughly, we realized the previous owner’s restoration would not do and we needed an upgrade. Dash had made it into the country but it would take some time and money before he would be free to explore any of New Zealand’s scenic highways.
We took the car to our new home in Johnsonville in the northern suburbs of Wellington and I pored over the car in detail to figure out what was next. There were lots of new parts on the car and a very perky reconditioned drivetrain but the chassis needed serious work.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

16 April, 2025

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.