Jaguar XJS (from Wikipedia)

Below you'll find an informative article from Wikipedia about the Jaguar XJS.  As an owner of one let me first tell you about it first hand. The XJS was my fourth Jaguar, my first was a 1954 XK120M roadster. I bought it in 1966 or 67 for $375.00. It was a used car that had been used but not misused. It's body and interior were typical of a 13-14 year old car, but mechanically it was mint, and drove beautifully. I was a kid, not earning much money, and so the tires I bought were not great, but try to find 16" tires in the 60's, it wasn't like today. I drove it for awhile, until one day leaving to go somewhere I shifted into second and a front tire took off ahead of me. The splines holding the wheel were worn and allowed the knock off to come off, then the wheel. So I sold it for 300.00 to a commercial airline pilot who lived in Yorba Linda. The fastest I ever had it was about 130 mph during rush hour on the Riverside freeway, proving to the guy that dated the girl next door it would go, at 130 he backed down.  My next was a 1962 E Type coupe that I bought in 1972 for $2000. It would only drive on full choke. Took it into a garage Britalia, that was located on Stanton Ave, just off Beach Blvd. in Stanton or Buena Park. At the time it was owned and run by Bill who specialized in Jaguar and Aston Martin.  I'd had it maybe two days and it cost me 120-130 to get it running. The guy I'd bought it from had bragged about rebuilding the engine himself. Well, Bill found that the cam bearings had just one bolt each and no safety wires, it had a Mallory dual point distributor put in backwards, and the carburators were way out. When I got it back it ran good, but that was temporary. I had it several months and it was in the garage more than it was on the road. When it was running it was a scalded dog, fast, very fast, 120 on the 55 to 90 freeway like it was on rails, but finally I took it back to the guy I bought it from and he returned part of my money. I bought a 65 Mustang. By now I had about come to the conclusion that they were great cars but not meant to be only cars. My next was a 67 XKE convertible, that I bought from a guy at work in 1978 for 300.00. He never maintained or even washed it. I spent a couple weeks cleaning it, tuning it up, rebuilt the distributor, tuned the carburators. Actually only put about 100. in it, then I drove it for awhile, my regular car then was a 72 T'Bird, so it was different. A guy saw it and offered me 700., I wanted to buy camping equipment, so I sold it.  I still was of the opinion they weren't meant to be only cars, even though while I had that one, after correcting the problems created by the guy I bought it from, it had been pretty dependable. That brings us to my 1995 XJS, bought in 2003, with 57k on the odometer for 17k. I put some money into it, did the 60k service, front brakes, added some accessories. It's up to 74k now and it's been one of the most dependable cars I've owned. I wouldn't hesitate to use this car as a daily driver, it's so good that in 06 I bought a 1996 XJ6 sedan that was as good, just sold that one, and the XJS is for sale to finance my move back to Calif. So, the point is that yes I'd love to have another 120 or E Type, if I was going to drive just one car I'd buy a later Jaguar, as dependable as any car out there.  

My XJS

The Jaguar XJ-S (later the Jaguar XJS) is a luxury grand tourer produced by the British manufacturer Jaguar. The XJ-S replaced the legendary E-Type (or XK-E) in September 1975, and was based on the XJ saloon. It had been developed as the XK-F, though it was very different in character from its predecessor. Although it never had quite the same sporting image, the XJ-S was a competent grand tourer, and more aerodynamic than the E-Type.[3] The last XJS was produced on 4 April 1996, by when 115,413 had been produced during a 21-year production life. The model was replaced by the XK8.

1976

The first XJ-S appeared in 1975 as a 1976 model. Power came from the Jaguar V-12 petrol engine with a choice of a manual or automatic transmission, but the manual was soon dropped. V-12 automobiles were unusual at the time, with notable others coming from Italian luxury sports car makers Lamborghini and Ferrari. The specifications of the XJ-S compared well with both Italian cars; it was able to accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 7.8 seconds and reach 142 mph (229 km/h). The first series of XJ-S cars had a Borg-Warner Model 12 transmission with a cast iron case and a bolt-on bell-housing. In 1979 GM Turbo-Hydromatic 400 transmissions were fitted. The TH400 transmission was an all aluminium alloy case with an integrated non-detachable bell-housing.

Jaguar's timing was not good; the car was launched in the wake of a fuel crisis, and the market for a 5.3 litre V12 grand tourer was very small. The styling was also the subject of criticism, including the "flying buttresses" behind the windows. These so restricted rearward vision that they conflicted with safety regulations in Germany where the authorities refused to give the model (along with a similarly adorned contemporary Lancia model) type approval: it was for a time necessary instead for German XJS buyers to obtain type approval for each individual car when registering it.[4]

Jaguar did seize promotional opportunities with the television series The New Avengers and Return of the Saint. The New Avengers featured Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt) who drove an XJ-S. Return of the Saint saw Simon Templar (played by Ian Ogilvy) driving an early XJ-S with the number plate "ST 1". Miniature versions were made by Corgi and proved popular. A decade and a half before, Jaguar had turned down the producers of the earlier Saint series when approached about the E-type; the producers had instead used a Volvo P1800.

Responding to criticisms that the XJ-S was not a worthy E-type successor, Pininfarina revealed a sporty show car in 1978 based on XJ-S mechanicals and called Jaguar XJSpider.[5] The car never went into production.

1980s

From July 1981, XJ-S received the new High-Efficiency engine for much better economy; as a by-product, power was increased to 220 kW (295 hp) or 196 kW (263 hp) in North America.[6] At the same time, the XJ-S received changes to its exterior and interior (new five-spoke alloy wheels, chrome inserts on the upper part of the bumpers, wood inserts on dashboard and door cappings). In 1982, the new V12 XJ-S won first and second at the RAC Tourist Trophy race at Silverstone.

In 1983, a new cabriolet version débuted with a new 3.6 litre Jaguar AJ6 engine I6, the XJ-SC. In the XJ-SC, the rear jump seats were eliminated making it only a 2-seat car. The XJ-SC was not a full convertible but had a non-removable centre targa-type structure and fixed cant rails above the doors. The rear quarter windows remained as well. With the introduction of the AJ6 engine in the XJS chassis came the availability of a 5-speed manual transmission for the 6-cylinder cars. This model with a Getrag manual transmission was not imported by Jaguar into the United States. (The US had to wait until the facelift manual 4 litre XJS coupe & convertible were available and even then they were bought only in very low numbers). A limited number of earlier 5-speed AJ6 cars did enter the US as grey market personal imports however. A V12 XJ-SC did not emerge until 1985. The two-seat XJ-SC targa-type model was replaced with a two-seat full convertible in 1988. Prior to that there was a special full convertible version called a Hess & Eisenhardt XJS offered through dealers starting in 1986. The Hess & Eisenhardt coachbuilding firm was located in Ohio and built approximately 893 of these cars under contract from Jaguar before the official Jaguar built XJS convertible appeared in 1988 to be offered as a 1989 model.

The Hess & Eisenhardt convertible differed from the later Jaguar convertible XJS as its unpadded top folded down deeper into the body structure of the car resulting in a cleaner rear profile when the roof was lowered. In order to accommodate this design element, the Hess & Eisenhardt convertibles have two separate fuel tanks, positioned to allow for the roof to fully retract. The process of converting the stock Jaguar XJS Coupe into the H&E Convertible included the post-production removal of the roof, cutting the body in several sections, the addition of steel reinforcements behind the driver's seat, and 20 lb (9.1 kg) weights placed just behind the headlights to eliminate harmonic resonance caused by the significant modifications to the car. H&E XJS convertibles are easily identified by the lower folding top, as well as two small badges located just behind the front wheels. The later Jaguar full convertible had a heavier padded top that did not fold into as small a bundle when in the lowered position, but retained nearly all of the original components of the coupe.

The true number of H&E Jaguar XJSes is not known, due in part to a fire at the Hess & Eisenhardt factory that destroyed most of the records pertaining to the Jaguar XJS conversions.

In 1988 and 1989, a special XJR-S version of the V12 5.3 litre car was produced by TWR to celebrate Jaguar's win at Le Mans. A numbered limited edition of 100 of these cars were made for European sale only. This car had a distinctive TWR-fitted body kit, special alloy wheels and suspension and handling improvements. Between 1988 and 1989 a total of 350 XJR-S cars were produced with the 5.3 litre engine. After September 1989 the change was made to a special 6.0 litre engine with a Zytec engine management system (234 kW (314 hp), later 245 kW (329 hp)). This was different from the standard 6.0 litre engine used in the late XJS models. The XJR-S stayed in the line until 1993; a total of 1,130 cars were built.[7]

Jaguar did consider a luxury Daimler version tentatively called Daimler-S, without the flying buttresses, but this vehicle was not put into production, although one prototype was made in 1986.[8] Paul Banham did produce some custom notch back coupes without the flying buttresses, larger rear side windows, and a narrow C-pillar. In the mid-nineties, Banham also made a re-worked version called the XJSS based on the XJS. This set of front and rear styling modifications was also available for a while as a DIY kit.

Throughout the life of the XJS, British company Lynx sold a high-quality four-seat full convertible conversion. Lynx also produced 67 hand-built two-door estate/shooting brake/station wagon versions of the XJS marketed under the name of "Lynx Eventer". The Eventer was a very elegant model, which succeeded in the overall design because it removed the flying butresses, incorporating them into the estate design. Jaguar were urged to market their own version but never did. Most Eventers are believed to still exist although build quality, especially on the early versions, was at best variable.

1991–1996

The car was re-engineered in 1991 and renamed XJS. All XJSs from this time are referred to as "facelift" models. The rear side windows appeared enlarged (although the body glass aperture was actually the same size as the earlier car), and the flying buttresses stayed, as designer Geoff Lawson argued that they were part of the car's character. The car got a new 4 litre version of the AJ6. In 1992 a 4 litre convertible was added to the range. The V12 was upped to 6 litre in May 1993 (227 kW (304 hp)). At the same time the car benefited from a revision to the rear brakes, they were now fitted with outboard rear disc brakes, instead of the more complicated inboard items on previous models. With the introduction of the 6.0 litre V12, the transmission was also updated to a GM 4L80E with a 4th gear overdrive, whilst the automatic 4 litre models continued with the electronic ZF4HP24E transmission. A 2+2 convertible was also introduced, as was a customised insignia line. At the same time the car received more aerodynamic front and rear bumpers. Cars from this period are oft referred to as "Big-Bumper" cars. 1992 thru 1994 were the only years the 6-cylinder with 5-speed manual transmission XJS was exported to the United States. Exact production figures are unknown, though it is likely there are fewer than ten. In April 1994 substantial revisions were made to the 4 litre AJ6 engine which became the 4.0 litre AJ16 with coil on plug ignition being the most noticeable change. In 1995, the final specification changes were made and the car was referred to as the Celebration model to celebrate the 60th year of the Jaguar company. The 6 litre V12 had all but disappeared by this time and was only available during the last year of production by special order. The car was discontinued in 1996, after 21 years in production. It was replaced by the XK8.

Motorsport

For 1977, the "Group44" racing team had a very successful season in Trans Am with a race car based on the actual production XJ-S chassis and running gear. The team won the series' 1977 drivers' championship cup for Bob Tullius but missed winning the manufacturer's title by two points (only one Jaguar was competing in the Trans-Am series compared to many more Porsche entrants). In 1978, a purpose-built tube-frame "silhouette" style XJS race car was constructed which greatly reduced the weight compared to the full production chassis car campaigned in 1977. This silhouette car had only the production car's roof panel as the sole piece of factory XJS sheetmetal on the car. Group 44 succeeded in again capturing the driver's championship for Bob Tullius and also captured the manufacturer's title as well, by entering Brian Fuerstenau driving the 1977 car at some venues to gain additional manufacturer's point for Jaguar. The silhouette car survived and has surfaced recently in the SVRA historic sports race series. The 1977 factory chassis race car is believed to still be in the hands of Group 44's Bob Tullius.

In April 1979 a Jaguar XJS driven by Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough was entered into Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, widely known simply as the Cannonball Run. They completed the 2,863 miles (4,608 km) from New York to Los Angeles in a record time of 32 hours and 51 minutes, a record that stood for 4 years, until it was beaten by David Diem and Doug Turner in a Ferrari 308. Diem and Turner covered the same distance in 32 hours and 7 minutes on the US Express, an unofficial successor to the Cannonball Run. [1]

In 1984 Tom Walkinshaw captured the Drivers’ title of the European Touring Car Championship with a Group A version of the XJ-S, entered by TWR. During the championship season the TWR team had also won the Spa 24 Hours race with an XJ-S driven by Tom Walkinshaw, Hans Heyer and Win Percy.

In 1985, XJ-S drivers John Goss and Armin Hahne won the James-Hardie 1000 for Group A Touring Cars at Bathurst, New South Wales in Australia. This car was the third of a trio of XJS's entered for the race by TWR. Walkinshaw and Percy finished third in the lead Jag after oil line problems late in the race.