The Jaguar XJ-12 by Pininfarina from 1973 - trendsetter or aberration?
In 1973, Pininfarina rebuilt a Jaguar with a twelve-cylinder engine under its own steam and without contacting the manufacturer, bought a standard XJ-12 sedan with a normal wheelbase and put a new body on it.
On October 4, 1973, AR described the result as a "very elegant body with six windows and a very large glass surface, strongly inclined front and rear pillars and a new, rectangular front with rounded corners and matching headlights". The saloon was shown for the first time at the 1973 Paris Motor Show.
Just one week later, in AR No. 43/1973 of October 11, 1973, the tone was somewhat more restrained when AR reported on the first tour of the Paris Motor Show: "The Jaguar V 12, completely redesigned by Turin coachbuilder Pininfarina, found admirers and critics. The unconventional front gives it its own character, while the smooth sides make the car appear rather bulky. The picture on the right shows the typical, largely adopted Jaguar instrument panel with many display units, toggle switches and, of course, walnut veneer."
And how do we see it today?
The car looks elegant and pleasing, but it doesn't really look like a Jaguar. There seems to be too much Ferrari 400 in it. After all, Jaguar later installed similar rectangular headlights in the successor to the then XJ, but then dropped this design element again in favor of a more traditional approach.
But what would Jaguar saloons look like today if they had taken Pininfarina's ideas back then and continuously developed them further? Many other British manufacturers (e.g. Aston Martin, Lotus, Triumph) have already radically changed their image and appearance using Italian design skills, and not to their detriment ...
The pictures (and a few more) of the Pininfarina XJ 12 can of course all be found in high resolution in the Zwischengas archive .
