Jaguar XJ


The Jaguar XJ is a series of mid-size/full-size luxury cars produced by British automobile manufacturer Jaguar Cars from 1968 to 2019. It was produced across four basic platform generations with various updated derivatives of each. From 1970, it was Jaguar's flagship four-door model. The original model was the last Jaguar saloon to have been designed under the leadership of Sir William Lyons, the company's founder, and the model has been featured in a myriad of media and high-profile appearances.

Series 1, 2, and 3 (1968–1992)

The first generation Jaguar XJ was produced for a total period of 24 years, with two major facelifts – in 1973 and in 1979, with a raised front bumper and less tall grilles.
For four years, the 1968 introduced XJ was a four-door, straight-six saloon on a wheelbase. In 1972, a more spacious, longer wheelbase option, and a 5.3 litre V12 engine were added. On the XJ series 2, the standard wheelbase saloons were cancelled in 1974 – but a SWB two-door coupé was sold from 1975–1978.
The 1979 series 3 saloons received a redesigned greenhouse and bumpers. The 6-cylinder series 3 models were replaced by the second generation Jaguar XJ in 1987, but the V12 models were not replaced until 1992.

Series 1 (1968–1973)

The XJ6 replaced most of Jaguar's saloons – which, in the 1960s, had expanded to four separate ranges. It carried over the 2.8-litre and 4.2-litre cylinder versions of Jaguar's renowned straight-six XK engine, and front and rear suspensions, from previous models: the widest version of Jaguar's IRS unit from the Mark X, and the subframe-mounted independent front suspension first seen in the 1955 Mark 1, with new anti-dive geometry.
An upmarket version was marketed as the Daimler Sovereign, continuing the name from the Daimler version of the Jaguar 420. The car was introduced in September 1968. Power-assisted steering and leather upholstery were standard on the 2.8 L De Luxe and 4.2 L models. Air conditioning was offered as an optional extra on the 4.2 L Daimler versions, which were launched in October 1969 in a series of television advertisements featuring Sir William. In these advertisements, he referred to the car as "the finest Jaguar ever". An unusual feature inherited from the Mark X and S-Type saloons was the twin fuel tanks, positioned on each side of the boot, and filled using two separately lockable filler caps: one on the top of each wing above the rear wheel arches. Preliminary reviews of the car were favourable, noting the effective brakes and good ride quality.
In March 1970, it was announced that the Borg-Warner Model 8 automatic transmission, which the XJ6 had featured since 1968, would be replaced on the 4.2-litre XJ6 with the Borg-Warner Model 12. The new transmission had three different forward positions accessed via the selector lever, which effectively enabled performance oriented drivers to hold lower ratios at higher revs to achieve better acceleration. "Greatly improved shift quality" was also claimed for the new system. Around this time other, minor changes were made as well, such as moving the rear reflectors from beside to below the rear lights; on the interior the chrome gauge bezels were replaced with black ones, to cut down on distracting reflections. In 1972, the option of a long-wheelbase version, providing a 4-inch increase in leg room for passengers on the rear seats, became available.
A high-performance version called the XJ12 was announced in July 1972, featuring a simplified grille treatment, and powered by a Jaguar's 5.3 L V12 engine coupled to the Borg-Warner Model 12 transmission. At the time, it was the only mass-produced 12-cylinder, four-door car in the world and, with a top speed of "around", it was the "fastest full four-seater available in the world".
Although it had been the manufacturer's intention from launch that the XJ would use the 12-cylinder engine its installation was nonetheless a tight fit, and providing adequate cooling had been a challenge for Jaguar's engineers. Bonnet louvres such as those fitted on the 12-cylinder E-Type were rejected and instead the XJ12 featured a complex "cross-flow" radiator divided into two separated horizontal sections supported with coolant feeder tanks at each end. The engine fan was geared to rotate at 1¼ times the speed of the engine, subject to a limiter which cut in at a fan speed of 1,700 rpm. The fuel system incorporated a relief valve that returned fuel to the tank when pressure in the lines to the carburettors exceeded 1.5 psi, to reduce the risk of vapour locks occurring at the high operating temperatures, while the car's battery had its own thermostatically-controlled cooling fan.
3,228 Series 1 XJ12s were built. A badge-engineered version, the Daimler Double-Six, was introduced in 1972, reviving the Daimler model name of 1926–1938.
ModelProduction
Jaguar XJ6 2.8 swb19,322
Jaguar XJ6 4.2 swb59,077
Jaguar XJ6 4.2 lwb574
Jaguar XJ12 swb2,474
Jaguar XJ12 lwb754
Daimler Sovereign 2.83,233
Daimler Sovereign 4.2 swb11,522
Daimler Sovereign 4.2 lwb386
Daimler Double Six swb534
Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas351
Total Production for Series 198,227

Series 2 (1973–1979)

The XJ line received a facelift in Autumn 1973 for the 1974 model year, thereafter known as the Series II; retrospectively the earlier cars were referred to as the Series I. The 4.2 L XJ6 straight-6 engine and the 5.3 L V12 XJ12 were continued with an addition of a version of the XK engine available from 1975. The Series II and Series II coupé were the last Jaguar models with direct input by Sir William Lyons before his retirement.
Initially, the Series II was offered with two wheelbases, but at the 1974 London Motor Show Jaguar announced the withdrawal of the standard wheelbase version: subsequent saloons all featured the extra 4 inches of passenger cabin length hitherto featured only on the long-wheelbase model. By this time, the first customer deliveries of the two-door coupe, which retained the shorter standard-wheelbase were only months away.
Series II cars are visually differentiated from their predecessors by raised front bumpers to meet US crash safety regulations, which necessitated a smaller grille, complemented by a discreet additional inlet directly below the bumper. The interior received a substantial update, including simplified heating and A/C systems to address criticisms of the complex and not very effective Series I systems.
In April 1975, the North American models got a slightly revised set of front bumpers which had rubber over-riders covering the full length of the bumper with embedded turn signals at each end, and the Zenith-Stromberg carburettors of the V12-powered cars were replaced by Bosch-Lucas electronic fuel injection. In 1978 the carburettors were similarly replaced with EFI in the 4.2 L 6-cylinder XJ6L. In May 1977, it was announced that the 12-cylinder engine would receive the General Motors' three-speed Turbo-Hydramatic 400 automatic transmission in place of the British-built Borg-Warner.
The 1978 UK model range included the Jaguar XJ 3.4, XJ 4.2, XJ 5.3, Daimler Sovereign 4.2, Double-Six 5.3, Daimler Vanden Plas 4.2 and Double-Six Vanden Plas 5.3. In New Zealand, knock-down kits of the Series II were assembled locally by the New Zealand Motor Corporation at their Nelson plant. In the last year of production in New Zealand, a special 'SuperJag' model was produced which featured half leather, half dralon wide pleat seats, vinyl roof, chrome steel wheels and air conditioning as standard. New Zealand produced models featured speedometers in km/h, and the black vinyl mats sewn onto the carpets in the front footwells featured the British Leyland L logo.
Though worldwide production of the Series II ended in 1979, a number were produced in Cape Town, South Africa until 1981. A total of 91,227 Series II models were produced, of which 14,226 were fitted with the V12 engine.
Engines
YearsTypeCapacityHorsepower
1973–1975DOHC I-62,792 140 Cv/Din
1975–1979DOHC I-63,442 160 Cv/Din
1973–1979DOHC I-64,235 186 Cv/Din - 172 Cv/Din See Note
1973–1979SOHC V125,343 269 Cv/Din See Note

Note that HP varies depending on emission standards imposed on particular vehicles
Production count
YearXJ6XJ12
19731,488168
197413,5264,744
197511,9902,239
197612,1573,283
19779,0431,913
197812,1383,284
19791,099429
Total61,44116,060

Short–long wheelbase
ModelSwbLwb
Jaguar XJ6 3.4—6,490
Jaguar XJ6 4.212,37050,912
Jaguar XJ12 5.3—14,226
Total12,37071,628

XJ Coupé

A 9,378 car production run of two-door XJ coupés with a pillarless hardtop body called the XJ-C was built between 1975 and November 1977, in addition to about 2,000 Daimler-badged examples. The car was originally shown at the London Motor Show in October 1973, but it subsequently became clear that it was not ready for production. The economic troubles resulting from the 1973 oil crisis unfolding in the Western world at that time seemed to have reduced any sense of urgency about producing and selling the cars. Amongst other productionisation problems, sealing the frameless windows caused delays. XJ coupés finally started to appear in Jaguar showrooms some two years later. The coupé was based on the short-wheelbase version of the XJ. The coupé's elongated doors were made out of a lengthened standard XJ front door. A few XJ-C cars were modified by Lynx Cars and Avon into a convertible body style with a retractable canvas top, but this was not a factory product. Lynx conversions did benefit from powered tops. Both six and twelve-cylinder models were offered, 6,505 of the former and 1,873 of the latter were made. Even with the delays, these cars suffered from water leaks and wind noise. The delayed introduction, the labour-intensive work required by the modified saloon body, the higher price than the four-door car, and the early demise promulgated by the new XJ-S, all ensured a small production run.
All coupés came with a vinyl roof as standard. Since the coupé lacked B-pillars, the roof flexed enough that the paint used by Jaguar at the time would develop cracks. More modern paints do not suffer such problems, so when coupés are repainted it is advisable to remove the vinyl. Today many XJ-Cs thus no longer have their vinyl roof, which also minimises the threat of roof rust. Some owners also modified their XJ-C by changing to Series III bumpers. This lifted the front indicators from under the bumper and provided built in rear fog lights. A small number of Daimler versions of the XJ-C were made. One prototype of the Daimler Vanden Plas XJ-C was also made; however, this version never went into production.
The XJC was also raced, although the results were less than satisfying - memories of the failed effort made British Leyland decline to provide factory backing for the TWR-prepared XJS five years later. The XJ12C racing car was developed for the European Touring Car Championship by Ralph Broad of Broadspeed. With Derek Bell at the wheel, it briefly led its debut race, the RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone in September 1976, but failed to finish. This became the modus operandi for the XJC racing effort: Overweight and unreliable, the best result was a second place at Nürburgring in 1977 and British Leyland cancelled the program before completing the season.
Production count
Model \ Year197319741975197619771978Total
4.2 L Coupé212,9251,7461,776376,487
5.3 L Coupé—11821663329311,855
Daimler Sovereign Coupé——47158761361,677
Daimler Double Six Coupé—17614915922407
Total2134,2933,1452,8779610,426