Jaguar XJ6 S3 4.2 Saloon

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The ground-breaking XJ6 made such an impact at launch that virtually every other luxury saloon on the market was instantly outmoded.

Its combination of stunning looks, performance, refinement and ride comfort, not to mention value for money, shook the rest of the industry to the core. No wonder CAR magazine voted it 'Car of the Year' in 1968 and later, in 12-cylinder Daimler form, 'Best Car in the World'.

It remained in production for 26 years, going through three stages of development before being replaced by the X300 in 1994. The Series 3 model (as here) came out in 1979 and was subtly redesigned by Pininfarina with a few minor tweaks to improve safety and wind noise, with improvements such as bigger rubber bumpers, flush-fitting door handles and one-piece front windows with no quarter lights. The roof-line was also raised slightly for increased passenger head-room and Bosch fuel-injection was fitted for improved economy and performance.

However the really big news was the marked increase in build quality under the hawk-eyed supervision of Jaguar’s new chairman, Sir John Egan, who was rightly concerned by some of the shoddy practices that had slipped in during the production of the Series 2 cars in the late 70s. Available with three engine options (3.6, 4.2 and 5.3 litres), the revamped XJ6 once again became one of the finest saloons on the market and some 133,000 were sold before it was replaced by the rather boxy XJ40 in 1986.

This 1980 UK-registered S3 has spent its recent past as part of a Jaguar collection in Ireland and was acquired by the vendor as part of a deceased estate sale. Sadly, as is so often the case, the service history has gone astray, although the car has just flown through an MOT which expires in June 2016.

Fitted with a wood-rim Moto-lita steering wheel, this striking classic saloon is reported to drive beautifully and appears to have stood the test of time well.