1988 Jaguar XJS 5.3 V12

The Jaguar XJ-S was launched on 10 September 1975 as the replacement for the much-loved E-Type. The development of the car had begun in the late 1960s as project XJ27, with an initial design by Malcolm Sayer, but after his death in 1970, it was completed by the in-house Jaguar design team, headed by Doug Thorpe. Power came from the Jaguar V12 initially with a choice of a manual or automatic transmission, but the manual was soon dropped as they were left over from V12 E-Type production and they ran out of stock. There was a considerable delay in finalising the XJ-S design as, although everyone on the design team was happy with the front and middle of the car, the problem was the back. Sir William Lyons was notorious for micro-managing the design details of his beloved Jaguars and no matter how many different approaches and designs were suggested by the drawing office, the 'Old Man' didn't like any of them.One evening Stan Keyworth, a Production Director in the company, and the man responsible for reaching the decision that the E-Type could simply never be built to the new American safety regulations received a late afternoon phone call from Sir William. He wanted to know 'what was selling' and 'whose cars had captured the public imagination'. Stan felt that the 246GT Dino was top of the pops at the time and Sir William requested that he wanted a good look at one. So Stanley managed to scrounge a Dino from a Ferrari dealer friend and duly delivered it to Wappenbury Hall where it was parked outside the drawing-room window. Apparently, Stan remained in the kitchen eating sandwiches for several hours whilst Sir William stared out of the window with his sketchpad. If you have ever wondered where those distinctive 'flying buttress' features at the back of the early XJS came from, have a look at a Dino.The Jaguar XJ-S was launched on 10 September 1975 as the replacement for the much-loved E-Type. The development of the car had begun in the late 1960s as project XJ27, with an initial design by Malcolm Sayer, but after his death in 1970, it was completed by the in-house Jaguar design team, headed by Doug Thorpe. Power came from the Jaguar V12 initially with a choice of a manual or automatic transmission, but the manual was soon dropped as they were left over from V12 E-Type production and they ran out of stock. There was a considerable delay in finalising the XJ-S design as, although everyone on the design team was happy with the front and middle of the car, the problem was the back. Sir William Lyons was notorious for micro-managing the design details of his beloved Jaguars and no matter how many different approaches and designs were suggested by the drawing office, the 'Old Man' didn't like any of them. One evening Stan Keyworth, a Production Director in the company, and the man responsible for reaching the decision that the E-Type could simply never be built to the new American safety regulations received a late afternoon phone call from Sir William. He wanted to know 'what was selling' and 'whose cars had captured the public imagination'. Stan felt that the 246GT Dino was top of the pops at the time and Sir William requested that he wanted a good look at one. So Stanley managed to scrounge a Dino from a Ferrari dealer friend and duly delivered it to Wappenbury Hall where it was parked outside the drawing-room window. Apparently, Stan remained in the kitchen eating sandwiches for several hours whilst Sir William stared out of the window with his sketchpad. If you have ever wondered where those distinctive 'flying buttress' features at the back of the early XJS came from, have a look at a Dino. Jaguar released the XJS coupe in 1976 not as a direct replacement for the E-Type, which retired in 1974, but rather as an evolution of the breed. While the third series XKE wasn’t exactly the same sporting car that appeared in 1961, it retained much of the original’s character. The XJS, meanwhile, was a true grand tourer aimed more at comfort and cruising than spirited driving. Whereas the E-Type was curvaceous and sinewy, the XJS used aggressive lines, with its most distinguishable feature being its flying buttresses trailing from the roof to the squared-off tail. The model was the first Jaguar not styled by William Lyons and a convertible wasn’t available until the model’s very end. As such, opinions abounded and sales were steady if somewhat unimpressive. In a sense, the XJS took inspiration from Mercedes-Benz’s 2+2 GT, the 450SLC, a boulevardier capable of comfortably eating up the miles. To that end, the XJS was fitted with Bosch-Lucas fuel injection, a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering and brakes, and leather upholstery. The Jag used the same 5.3-liter, 244-horsepower V-12 engine found in the final iteration of the XKE to hit a top speed of around 150 mph. The Jaguar XJS’s engine was a fuel-injected version of the E-Type’s 5.3 litre V12, still one of the finest engines in the world today. Wood trim, heated seats, and anti-lock-brakes were added in 1989. By this time the V-12 convertible cost a hefty $82,550, which was a far cry from the coupe’s $19,000 price tag at launch. When the XJS was discontinued in 1996, it was the longest-running Jaguar model ever, at 20 years. The V-12, which is silky smooth and almost silent at its best. Fuel economy should not be a concern of yours if you are seeking one out, and the wisdom of buying the best you can was never truer than when it was applied to the XJS. The time warp car offered here is probably the lowest mileage examples in existence and with the ultimate 5.3ltr V12 configuration, must be one of the most desirable and collectible XJS’s to come to the market. This car was purchased from Exeter Garages new by Helen Bithrey of Weston Honiton in the UK on the 17th August 1988 for (£30400). The cars file has a copy of it’s original purchase invoice, photos of the car signed by Helen, all of it’s DVLA’s and colourful licence discs from 1988 all the way up until 2013 when the car was purchased at the Bonhams Oxford Auction  on the 15th June 2013 by our vendor. Our vendor did not intend to purchase the XJS and had gone to the auction in search of other classics but his attention was immediately drawn to the cars elegant yet aggressive lines flowing all the way to the top of the flying buttresses at the rear. This of course and the ridiculously low mileage!