Jaguar XJS HE V12 Coupe

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If you had an E-Type and an XJS at your disposal and had to get from Mayfair to Monte Carlo at the highest possible speed and in the greatest possible comfort, which car would you choose?

Exactly – there is really no comparison and the XJS would win hands down every time. Launched in September 1975 as a replacement for the legendary E-Type, the Jaguar XJS V12 was a much more modern and sophisticated car than its glamorous predecessor and had a totally different character – the E-Type being a race-bred sportscar while the XJS was a high speed grand tourer.

Largely designed by Jaguar's legendary aerodynamicist, Malcolm Sayer, it slipped through the air far more efficiently than the E-Type and was a paragon of stability and silence at speed. Indeed refinement was in a different league to the E-Type and even today there are few cars that are quite so relaxing to drive fast.

And with 295bhp to play with in post-1981 HE form, the XJS certainly was fast, hitting 60mph in 7.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 155mph, making it the fastest automatic car in the world. Fuel consumption was also reduced by some 20% in the HE models (High Efficiency) thanks to the Michael Mays-designed ‘Fireball’ cylinder head.

In fact the XJS was so refined and capable that many of its underpinnings later found their way into the Aston Martin DB7 and the Jaguar XK8. No wonder it stayed in production until 1996 – and how puzzling that it is so humbly valued today compared to the elder sibling it is so often, and so erroneously, measured against.

This particular V12 HE Coupe has had just two owners from new, the first keeping it for seven years and the vendor for the last 20 years. Throughout his ownership the car has always been kept garaged and has been used in the summer months only, hence the very low mileage (51,050) and the remarkable originality of the coachwork.

Always well maintained, it has 10 stamps in the book up to 48,450 miles in 2006 and we are told that it has had an oil and filter change every two years since then, although these are not recorded in the history file. Due to have a fresh MOT in time for the sale, the car is said to drive beautifully and to have proved totally reliable over the last two decades. It comes with all its original handbooks in the original wallet, the original toolkit and wheel changing kit and two sets of keys.

Apart from some corrosion which is beginning to spoil the chrome on the bumpers, the car appears to be in unusually sound and unmolested condition, with a really fine oatmeal leather interior. These hushed and potent V12 Jags are magnificent cars to drive or be driven in. Somewhat undervalued at present, they are widely tipped for a resurgence and this low-mileage two-owner example ticks all the right boxes for the canny collector.