Jaguar XJS V12 HE Coupe

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The Jaguar XJS had a mountain to climb from the day it was launched – it had to replace the impossibly glamorous E-Type which had so captured the public's imagination when it first appeared in 1961.

Predictably the XJS failed to stir emotions in the same way when it first hit the road in September 1975, which was a shame because in all other respects it was a fine car. Furthermore, 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 was very small.

A much more modern and sophisticated car than its iconic predecessor, it also had a totally different character – the E-Type being a race-bred sports car while the XJS was a high speed grand tourer ideally suited to trans-continental cruising. Once somewhat unloved for its curious ‘flying buttress’ rear end styling, time has been kind to the car and it now looks more handsome with every passing year.

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. Based on a shortened XJ saloon floor pan, it weighed over 100kg less than an XJ12 and in early manual form could sprint to 60mph in just 6.7 seconds and top 153mph.

In 1981 the XJS received the new HE (High Efficiency) engine with Michael May-designed Fireball heads providing 295bhp to play with but also improving fuel economy by 20 per cent and upping the top speed to 155mph, making it the fastest automatic car in the world. 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 with 115,413 examples produced during its 21-years. How puzzling that it is still so humbly valued today compared to the elder sibling it is so often, and so unfairly, measured against.

First registered in September 1987, this XJS was first sold for £27,000 in London (purchase invoice on file). There are a number of bills present too but not until the early 90s when it was serviced in 1993, 1994 and 1995, getting a new petrol tank and steering rack at the latter date. It appears to have only had four owners before joining the Stondon Collection in 1997. Four MOTs document the mileage rising from 62,771 in 1993 to 89,260 in 1996, the clock having barely moved since as the car has been on static display in the museum these past 18 years.