The XJ-S and Me
The Jaguar’s XJ-S isn’t now as maligned as it once was, and the market seems to have woken up to what a wonderful car it can be. I can’t blame anyone for taking a fair while to realise, as even for me it took buying one car, in particular, to make me stop and consider what I had and how much I liked it. I wasn’t even born for most of the production run of the XJ-S, let alone be of driving age, so my experience of them has been limited until recently. I had bought one or two as stock over a couple of years (convertibles, mainly), and hadn’t given them much thought other than considering the condition those were in, and the saleable value. I could see that they were quite undervalued and I was aware that interest in them was beginning to rise, so I ended up buying a few more, including a couple of project XJ-Ss.
I’ve never been put off by V12 horror stories as many seem to be, though I do understand why people are cautious of them. The first classic car I drove was a fuel-injected Series 3 E-Type and that particular car set a standard for me in what I liked about old cars. Being told to floor it from a lay-by on a local A-road provided me with the particularly intoxicating experience that only a V12 can offer. The power seemed endless, but utterly smooth and with just enough sound to let you know that it was something special. It doesn’t take any time at all for that wavering speedo needle to be somewhere around the 70mph mark, even though it wasn’t a fast car at all by modern standards.
The E-type V12 and XJ-S are as similar as they are different. The later E-types aren’t sports cars, though personally, I find them plenty handy if you ask it of them, and for me, the XJ-S is as brilliant a GT car as anything you could hope to find today. It doesn’t need lots of technology to coddle its occupants, because it covers ground effortlessly and in absolute comfort, which is a huge part of what any Jaguar should be able to do. On the other hand, it isn’t the most spacious, granted, and the rear seats are laughable for most. However I’m fairly tall and not of the slimmest of builds, and I’ve never been uncomfortable in an XJ-S. Both these Jaguars make for excellent grand tourers, both provide similar amounts of cabin space and have similar powertrains, and yet the styling and construction of the XJ-S make it feel a much more modern car — which it is. Given all of that, it would seem natural for me to love the XJ-S and for it to have such an impression on me as the E- Type originally did.
The XJS that really made me realise how special they are was actually a later car, and was fitted with neither a V12 nor a manual gearbox (which I tend to favour). The car in question originally piqued my interest because it had a dark interior, which can be hard to find, and because I can be a little bit finicky. Others may find it boring, but if I can find a car with a black interior then that is what I try and go for, as generally they look and wear better. It was a 4.0 Automatic car that was said to have a fantastic history and had been extensively magazine featured, with lots of work recently carried out. It was being sold at a regional auction not a million miles away from where I live in Essex and had roughly 190,000 miles on the clock. That little piece of information was probably enough to put most bidders off, but it only made me want to bid more. After a provisional winning bid and a little bartering with the owner, I did indeed end up purchasing the high mileage XJS for a little under £3,500 including commission. I still own that car, and just a few years later it now has over 210,000 miles on the clock — with over 12,000 miles covered in the last twelve months.
That car is most likely my favourite car that I’ve ever owned, and one of the most reliable, too. It has needed its fair share of work, including the head rebuilding around 15,000 miles ago and the rear shocks and springs have just been replaced ahead of its most recent MOT. However, it has always got me where I’m going with the minimal amount of fuss and always in comfort. I’m fortunate to own faster, more expensive, and objectively more desirable cars, but this one holds a soft spot in my heart. A lot of people would have you believe that an XJ-S is only good for motorway journeys and that they’re too heavy and lazy to be any fun. Those people are wrong, as any well cared for XJ-S will handle well, especially one with the optional sport pack suspension (like mine). These are plenty fun on a B-road! It is also important to remember that a car can be special for any reason and that the monetary value, or other common formats of desirability really are immaterial. If you like a car, for whatever reason, then never let anyone tell you it isn’t special.
One thing most likely to disappoint me about an XJ-S (or almost any old car) is the automatic gearbox. Though some feel it suits the character of a grand tourer, I feel that it robs the driver of crucial engagement and stifles the engine - even if the single gear acceleration of an XJ- S V12 is very impressive. Later automatic cars benefit from a ‘Sport’ button which makes the engine more eager to rev and also allows the car to rev to the redline; but it still doesn’t quite match up to a manual. The only factory V12 XJ-S cars fitted with a manual gearbox were the very early pre-H.E. models. Only 352 were constructed using the E-type’s four-speed gearbox and they now command a strong premium. After introducing the 3.6-litre straight-six variant later in the car’s production run, Jaguar introduced a 5-speed Getrag manual gearbox. If you can find one of these cars for sale, and you’re looking for an XJ-S, then I recommend you seriously consider one. It certainly isn’t the finest gearshift you could experience, but it really does change the character of the car, unleashing it and making it a great deal more sporting. There are also quite a few V12 cars that have received a manual gearbox conversion. I won’t say much about them other than that a V12 engine attached to a manual gearbox is a fantastic thing, and even better when combined with the styling and ride comfort of an XJ-S.
I could talk about these sorts of things all day, and I’ve probably bored more people than I could count by rambling on and insisting they should give the XJ-S/XJS a chance. Instead, I’ll end by saying that a V12 XJ-S is probably one of the most affordable classic cars per cylinder that you could buy (£500 per cylinder isn’t unachievable even now), and that parts prices and maintenance aren’t that scary, especially if you can spin a spanner yourself.
You can follow Luke Harding on Twitter for more such adventures — and to enjoy the frequent visits he makes to car auctions. He’s also an ardent fan of yellow cars, so you might find a handful of those on his timeline as well. If that’s a tad too much for you, bear in mind there’s always a Jaguar XJ-S just around the corner for some great visual relief.
Photos by @LudenClassics; Luke’s photo by Andrew Green
