Jaguar XJ8 4.0 Sovereign LWB

The launch of the Jaguar XJ40 in 1986 had required a steep learning curve from those within the company. When launched, the engineers had thrown virtually the whole of the previous model in the bin and come up with a fresh design from the ground up. Inevitably this caused teething troubles, with early reliability being a source of major concern to the company as well as giving headaches to the accountants, for everything was new and needed expensive tooling.

In the longer term however the car was to grow into a very worthy successor to the beautifully engineered XJ6, and by the early 90s was proving itself against the very best competitors on the market. One major area which took longer to address was the rather bland styling and it was not until the X300 made its debut for the 1995 model year that the elegance of the earlier cars re-appeared. The centre section from the outgoing model remained the same, whilst a more curvaceous front and rear section were restyled by Geoff Lawson with round headlights.

The ever improving build quality and more familiar Jaguar styling ensured instant success, particularly in the lucrative export markets. New engines arrived in 1997 with the X308, which gained a new dashboard and two V8 engine options – a 3.2 litre and a 290bhp 4.0 litre which could be had with a Supercharger. Supplied only as a 5-speed auto, it was to remain the mainstay of the business until the brilliant aluminium bodied X350 appeared in 2003.

This 1998 4.0-litre example has covered only 44,500 miles from new and is MOTd until in July 2013. It comes with all of the hand books which show 8 service stamps, the last being undertaken at 44,140 miles in 2011.

What fabulous cars these are and what value they represent. This low mileage example has been used within a funeral directors business and looks to have been cared for accordingly.