Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works is THE solution to the pain of old Jags and Landies, for a price

Like most, if not all old British cars, historic Jaguars and Land Rovers can be mighty difficult to own, with tendencies for incurable oil leaks, electrical gremlins and corrosion when exposed to air, let alone water.

But lovers of Pommy four-wheeled heritage can't get enough of them, and now the JLR Group has taken things into their own hands with the Jaguar Land Rover Classic Works. I popped in for a jiggery poke last week after the JLR Tech Fest.

It all kicked off with the single-digit E-type Lightweight and XKSS New Original recreation projects, and XKSS number 4/6 is currently being assembled at the brand-new £7 million, 14,000 square-metre facility which opened in June. It boasts 54 workshop bays and strip-down areas, an engine room and storage space for 480 vehicles. JLR is taking its brand heritage very seriously these days.

The workshop's core function is to preserve the JLR Group's 500-strong collection of classic metal, but also restores owner-supplied vehicles and now retails fully restored Series 1 E-types, Series 1 Land Rovers and original three-door Range Rovers through its Reborn service.

In the flesh, it's more like an F1 facility than the grimy old workshop its name suggests. Graham, our guide, has been with the organisation for 50 years, with the first 47 spent working in new-vehicle manufacturing. Rather than the greasy overalls he no doubt wore for much of his career, he's clad in a corporate jacket and ironed business shirt like he's just pulled off the headphones in an F1 pit garage. He also makes a mean coffee.

Guest photography is strictly forbidden out of respect for customer privacy, but I'm allowed to tell you everything I saw. These stock shots from JLR give you a fair idea anyway.

Sitting front and centre in the lobby last week was the first customer-build XKSS New Original, and the first XKSS of any kind I've seen in the flesh. Without the D-type's headrest fairing, it looks as caricaturish as a '60s version of Lightning McQueen, but still exquisite, and impeccably finished by the JLRCW crew.

There was a restored XK120 and XK150, two survivor E-type coupes, the first Reborn Series 1 Land Rover, and immaculate early three-door Discovery and a survivor Series 1 Land Rover that looks like it's spent a couple of decades in a sandstorm.

Heading into the workshop area, there's two trimming bays where two upholstery craftspeople with a combined 95 years of Jaguar experience handle any retrim work full-time.

Originality is a key focus, but unless specifically requested they use a Scottish leather that is dyed all the way through, unlike the original Conolly leather which famously cracks with use. Modern injected foam is also used for padding, which is more dense and firmer than the original stuffing foam that was used in conjunction with horse hair.

I was then confronted by a trio of XK220s among the five-odd bays dedicated to the preservation of Jaguar's most recent production supercar.

I'd only seen one before, in Sydney's Classic Throttle Shop last month, but three was just mind blowing. Particularly given one was the #58 car that raced at Le Mans in 1993 and 95. If they look long in photos, they'd rival some buses in the flesh.

One of the bays just had an engine and transmission parked at it, which meant a rare opportunity to inspect the XJ220's most controversial element up close.

Typically known as a mere hand-me-down from the monstrous Rover Metro Group B rally car, the twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 and five-speed transaxle are actually covered in cast Jaguar Sport logos, which suggests the castings were unique to the Jag. Other trivial facts: The rear lights were pinched from the first Rover 200 hatch and Pirelli makes the only tyres you can buy to replace its 17 and 18-inch boots, and they're £5000 a set.

Adjacent to these was a couple of E-type coupes going through the incredibly meticulous Reborn treatment, next to an X308 XJR in for servicing.

Down the end of the room was a D-type racer, or XKSS with a mohawk and only one door, with an immaculate XJC V12 alongside it.

Heading back to the front of the workshop, there was a rather curious-looking late model XJ6 with custom bumpers sitting in bare metal, which was next to another XJC, an X100 XKR with R Options being serviced and one of the last Defender 90s.

Pushed up against the lobby glass like an appealing puppy was the aforementioned XKSS New Original 4/6, with just its mid-section and front and rear subframes complete. It's almost a shame they have to finish it.

Graham then took us into the private inspection room used for briefing customers before a project is undertaken and showcasing the finished product at the end. Equipped with its own hoist, it was hiding a very tatty early Land Rover trayback ute last week, with the Dubbo address on a windscreen sticker revealing its Strine provenance.

Back in the main workshop, we were then shown the Land Rover Reborn area, which appears to be the world's slowest assembly line of immaculate four-wheel drive farm machinery.

In-house Land Rover guru and fellow-Aussie Mike Bishop let slip that the majority of the dozen vehicles underway were also sourced from Australia, as our dry climate is much better for preserving old Landies than the moist Old Blighty.

Up the back was a late horizontal tail-light XJS undergoing what looked to be electrical repairs (who'da thunk it?) and a restored early Land Rover fire services vehicle with a giant crank-driven water pump on the front.

There's another giant shed just behind the workshop which houses a bunch of Jaguar Classic collection vehicles and an amazing collection of obscurities from around the world, many of which came with the recent acquisition of the 543-vehicle James Hull collection.

What's next for JLRCW? The electric E-type Concept Zero revealed this week is probably a good indication of what's possible if customers are interested. If so, there's a good chance they'll be spinning out a few oldies without exhausts or oil leaks in the near future.

How much does all this cost? You'll have to enquire within. If you find yourself in The Midlands, the JLRCW is now open for public visits, but book ahead.

Would you like to see more OEMs restoring their own classics? Tell us what you think in the comments