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50 years of the Jaguar XJ-S - a benchmark and long seller with an eventful history

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Created on September 3, 2025

Text:

Martin Sigrist

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Archiv

64

Archiv

64

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - At the IAA Frankfurt

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - JVC 481N was already available to the press in the summer of 1975 and influenced the not only positive initial reactions to the XJ-S

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - On the road on the Motorway in summer 1975 - N plates were issued June 74 to June 75

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - Modern dashboard was criticized for its less than classy look

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - The press was not very impressed with the controls of the new model

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Jaguar XJ-S (1977) - with very powerful 5.3-liter V12 engine - Geneva Motor Show 1977

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Jaguar XJ-S (1976) - together with Austin Allegro, both painted in elegant black - Geneva Motor Show 1976

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - In the wind tunnel, the designer Malcolm Sayer was an aerodynamicist

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Jaguar XJ-S V12 (1975) - Oval headlights on a Jaguar took some getting used to

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - Black rubber bumpers and the black rear panel were intended to represent sportiness

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - High-impact bumpers with wax-filled impact element

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - Upright spare wheel and only one tank above the rear axle instead of two reservoirs positioned sideways in the rear as on the XJ sedan

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - No wood in the interior due to a suspected ban in the USA

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - 2+2-seater Grand Tourer instead of sports car

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - William Lyons, still a sprightly pensioner at the time, didn't seem to be available, so his picture was added to the XJ13 and the new XJ-S without further ado

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Jaguar XJ 12 C (1975) - Jaguar had already presented a two-door model in April 75 - the XJ-S followed in the fall

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - JVC 9P was the first left-hand drive press car and was registered in August 1975

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - The US version with more attractive sealed-beam twin headlights and side markers

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Jaguar XJ-S (1978) - After a successful start, sales fell rapidly due to quality defects

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - Mounting the Lucas fuel injection control unit above the radiator was not a brilliant idea

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - The fuel-injected engine made its debut in the XJ in March 1975

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Jaguar XJ12 (1975) - Another press photo already mentions March 11 for the release date - apparently they had to reschedule

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - The floor assembly was based on the short version of the XJ sedan (see-through drawing)

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Jaguar XJ-S (1976) - High hopes for the export of the new Grand Tourer

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) - Comparisons with the competition were made with the manual transmission version of the XJ-S V12, of which only 352 were built

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Jaguar XJ-SC 3.6 Cabriolet (1986) - with XJ-S H.E. and XJ 12 as demonstration car of the Jaguar dealership Kronberg im Taunus

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Jaguar XJS (1983) - the V12 engine returns, the Swiss are still allowed to drive the silky smooth Jaguar - at the 1983 Geneva Motor Show

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Jaguar XJ-S HE V12 (1985) - Numerous detail improvements significantly increased reliability, the XJ-S was on the upswing in the 1980s

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Jaguar XJ-SC (1985) - rear view

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Jaguar XJ-SC 3.6 (1985) - The Park Sheet Metal Company removed the cantilever and the sheet metal roof of the coupé bodyshell, Jaguar painted it, Aston Martin Tickford installed the hard and soft top, Jaguar then took care of the finish - complicated

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Jaguar XJ-SC 3.6 (1985) - Contemporary press photo

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Jaguar XJ-SC Arden (1985) - As the popularity of the XJ-S grew, so did the desire of tuners for it

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Jaguar XJ-S 3.6 (1985) - View into the engine compartment with the new 6-cylinder AJ6 engine installed at an angle, the hood has a raised section in the middle to allow the valve cover to fit underneath.

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Jaguar AJ6 engine (1986) - see-through drawing

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Jaguar AJ6 (1983) - Cutaway from the press kit for the first new six-cylinder Jaguar since 1948

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Jaguar AJ6 (1985) View of the new engine production facility for the AJ6 six-cylinder, the successor to the XK engine, at the former Daimler factory in Radford

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Jaguar XJ-S 3.6 (1985) - View into the engine compartment with the new 6-cylinder AJ6 engine installed at an angle, the hood has a raised section in the middle to allow the valve cover to fit underneath.

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Jaguar XJ 40 Erlkönig (1984) - The development was lengthy and slowed down by a lack of money

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Jaguar XJ-S (1986) - Price list

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Jaguar XJ-S HE Coupé (1985) - With the new "Starfish" rims

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Jaguar XJ-S HE (1985) - New interior with fine wood inlays

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Jaguar XJS Convertible (1994) - Despite a surcharge of over 20,000 francs compared to the Coupé, the Convertible enjoyed great popularity until the end

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Jaguar XJ-S 3.6 (1983) - new chrome fittings also at the rear

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Jaguar XJS 4.0 Coupé (1992) - The rear and rear side windows were completely redesigned by the then Jaguar chief designer Geoff Lawson

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Jaguar XJS (1994) - Old selector lever with new handles for 1994

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Jaguar XJS (1994) - Last model update for the then almost 20-year-old classic

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Jaguar XJ-13 (1966) - secretly built Jaguar mid-engine prototype, intended for Le Mans, seen here outside the Jaguar factory in 1975

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Jaguar E-Type S3 (1971) - The new V12 in the cut

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Jaguar E-Type S3 (1971) - The designers Harry Mundy on the left and Walter "Wally" Hassan on the right with their latest child, the SOHC Jaguar V12 engine

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Jaguar XJ-S V12 (1975) - View into the engine compartment

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Jaguar XJ12 (1973) - The only four-door sedan with V12 and the fastest production sedan in the world at the time

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Jaguar XJ12 EFI (1975) - As a harbinger, the XJ12 received the fuel-injected engine in the spring and, on request, the new alloy wheels of the XJ-S

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Jaguar XJ-S (1977) - British Leyland's mixed store on the front page of the overall program: from the Mini to the Daimler saloon

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Jaguar XJ-S (1985) - Image brochure on the improvements in production and quality

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Freshly ennobled, Sir John Egan could be satisfied in 1986 that he had achieved the turnaround of Jaguar

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Jaguar Ascot XJ-S Bertone (1977) - idiosyncratic Bertone creation with wedge-shaped, repeating styling elements - Geneva Motor Show 1977

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Jaguar XJ-SC V-12 Convertible (1986) - from July 1985 no longer manufactured at Tickford, but at Jaguar in Browns Lane

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Jaguar 3.8 liter (1962) - precision is the order of the day in the manufacture of the six-cylinder engine

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Jaguar E Type - Sir William Lyons demonstrating the E Type - Geneva Motor Show 1961

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British Leyland (1973) - the exhibition stand benefits from a refined carpet landscape and beautiful girls - at the Geneva Motor Show in 1973

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British Leyland advertisement in 1973 in Germany - MG B, MG B GT, Jaguar E-Type, Mini, etc.

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Jaguar XJ6 (1969) - in tough test operation

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Jaguar E-Type Coupé (1961) - silhouette of the closed version

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Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – JVC 481N stand bereits im Sommer 1975 der Presse zur Verfügung und prägte die nicht nur positiven, ersten Reaktionen auf den XJ-S

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – Unterwegs auf dem Motorway im Sommer 1975 – N-Schilder wurden Juni 74 bis Juni 75 ausgegeben

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – Moderner Armaturenträger erntete Kritik für den wenig noblen Look

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – Über die Bedienelemente des neuen war die Presse nicht sehr angetan

Jaguar XJ-S (1977) - mit sehr leistungsfähigem 5,3-Liter-V12-Motor - Genfer Autosalon 1977

Jaguar XJ-S (1976) - zusammen mit Austin Allegro, beide in edlem Schwarz lackiert - Genfer Autosalon 1976

Summary

Too much plastic, too baroque, too soft, too little sportiness, too narrow, too much fuel consumption, too complicated, too far removed from the current needs of the market, too expensive to produce. Instead of enthusiasm, the Jaguar XJ-S had a hard time at its presentation on September 10, 1975 on the occasion of its official world premiere at the IAA in Frankfurt. When it was discontinued in 1996, it was the longest-built Jaguar and the most successful two-door in the company's history.

This article contains the following chapters

Concentration process against the will
The most important car in Jaguar history
Core competencies
Not absolutely necessary?
The boss helps design
Precautionary rejection
After the volume model, a look at the niche
A true late bloomer

Estimated reading time: 20min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The Jaguar XJ-S was received controversially at its world premiere on September 10, 1975; no one had expected a big hit from the parent company British Leyland. The new Jaguar model was also intended to serve as a model for where the brand with the leaping feline predator should be heading in the future. But this goal was still largely in the dark in the mid-1970s. For die-hard E-Type fans, the XJ-S was nothing more than another two-door version of the XJ. Since the introduction of the Series 2, this was actually also available as the two-door XJC - with both six and twelve-cylinder engines. Some people liked its shape better. In addition, the interior was the way many buyers outside the UK imagined a car from the island: With wood and leather in the interior. The XJ-S, on the other hand, dispensed with any wood on the dashboard and also used deep-drawn, black plastic.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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Images of this article

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – JVC 481N stand bereits im Sommer 1975 der Presse zur Verfügung und prägte die nicht nur positiven, ersten Reaktionen auf den XJ-S

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – Unterwegs auf dem Motorway im Sommer 1975 – N-Schilder wurden Juni 74 bis Juni 75 ausgegeben

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – Moderner Armaturenträger erntete Kritik für den wenig noblen Look

Jaguar XJ-S (1975) – Über die Bedienelemente des neuen war die Presse nicht sehr angetan

Jaguar XJ-S (1977) - mit sehr leistungsfähigem 5,3-Liter-V12-Motor - Genfer Autosalon 1977

Jaguar XJ-S (1976) - zusammen mit Austin Allegro, beide in edlem Schwarz lackiert - Genfer Autosalon 1976

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