Fast cars turned heads at Folkestone’s Channel Tunnel terminal on Tuesday when the annual Beaujolais Nouveau Run came through.

Jaguar got involved in the charity event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the XK, and there were a variety of Jags on show, including a rare D-Type from Ashford.

It was being driven through France by Neilsen McConnell and Louise Orpin, who had wrapped up in ski gear for the journey.

Neilsen said: “It’s quite difficult to drive; it’s got an old gearbox with no synchromesh gears and no power steering. It was built as a race car so it has a very heavy clutch, but it’s brilliant fun. There’s no heating and no wipers either.

“This is not an original, however, this was built out of one, the bodywork and the suspension are original, although it has a 4.2 litre engine whereas the originals were 3.4 and 3.8 litres.”

Charity

There is a good reason why there was no original D-Type on the run – the last one sold for more than £2m.

One of the organisers, Elaine Hart, said: “Every car receives a minimum of £2,000 sponsorship and 100 per cent of the money goes to charity.

“The entry fee is separate from the sponsorship and is based on cost. Most people raise money through selling sponsorship of parts of their cars and we usually raise in excess of £100,000.”

The charities benefiting from the run, which finishes with the return of the first cases of Beaujolais Nouveau from France, are Winston’s Wish, for bereaved children, Clic Sargent, and the Richard Burns Foundation.

Beaujolais Nouveau is one of the few wines that can be drunk 'off the vine’, hence the excitement.

While the cars looked magnificent in the car park, John and Maxine Fack’s beautiful E-type had windscreen wipers that refused to move.

So, with rain threatening, a length of twine was used instead!