New safety feature discovered

One might have thought, after 20 years of ownership, driving, repairing and restoring, I will have learned all of the Jag’s features, devices, foibles nooks and crannies, but no.

Aficionados of the Mark 2 Jag will be familiar with the dual function red warning light, glaring in the manner of computer Hal, for either ‘handbrake on’ or ‘low brake fluid’.

In Alison’s modern car, any attempt to leave the car with handbrake off is met with a bingy bongy alarm. Now, 1960’s Jag factory was not up to this but as I learned yesterday, they managed to come up with something far more effective. You will see from the pictures, when the handbrake is on, the lever is ‘obscured’ by the seat cushion i.e. you can get out without catching upon it. However, when in the off (down) position, if you are a normal sized person with seat pushed fully rearwards, there is just enough of the lever jutting forward to catch the heel as you attempt to alight from the car, and this is just enough to allow you to prevent your feet from exiting, but the body continues to do so, and thus you land on your face which in my case was a farmyard I visited yesterday. This system is very effective because it teaches tall drivers in one lesson to remember to apply the handbrake. I’m not sure what the system is for the undertall amongst us.

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PIII Rolls’ did the same (along with other Brit cars) by having both the handbrake and the shifter on the nearside of the driver’s seat (RHD).

I think the police had some issues with this.
And didn’t the xk8 have a similar arrangement?

Not sure about the XK8: I think 914 Porkers also had the p-brake on the outside of the LHD seat.