Cat Out of the Bag tells the factual story and gives insight into a little-known yet exciting and innovative period in Jaguar history.

It also has a personal account, by Peter, of life inside Jaguar’s competition department in the 1960s, a time when it was still very active, even though the official works team had withdrawn after the 1956 season.

Peter began his career at a small Carlisle garage but in 1959 embarked on an engineering apprenticeship at Jaguar.

Within two years, he had progressed to the company’s competition department where, for more than five years, he was involved in a multitude of exciting projects.

It is that very history that he has put into a book, even though it has taken 18 years to come to fruition.

Peter, who has lived in Kenilworth since the 1960s, said: “I had the idea all them years ago and spoke about it to my publisher, Paul Skilleter.

“At the time he said to me ‘you write it and I’ll publish it, no pressure, no timescale’.

“That was it until I actually sat down properly to do it two years ago.

“It has taken two years from first pen to paper to the publication and chronicles all the various projects I worked on from 1961 to 1966.”

The chronicles include facts and photographs on a number of models of Jaguar at that time.

These include the E2A, the new works competition car, the Mk 2 GT saloon, the four-seater E-type, the Mk X convention, building the lightweight E-type, E2A and Maxaret brakes, the 2+2 E-type, the Cunningham Le Mans E-type and the Coombs power boat.

Anyone who would like to get a copy of Peter’s new Jaguar book should log on to www.paulskilleterbooks.co.uk/catbook.php