Just the other day I was flipping through the classifieds in Thoroughbred and Classic Cars, my $8 guilty magazine pleasure, and noticed a late production XJS just like this one listed for sale. It was a 1994 “Celebration” coupe and it looked stunning in the same way this 1994 convertible here on craigslist does, with the smaller bumpers, European-style lighting and chrome ornamentation throughout. The seller is asking for $15,995, which immediately puts it out of project-car range for yours truly. Is it worth the price?
As per the answer to that last question, I say yes. The final fling of any car, particularly one with a following like the XJS, tends to give it credibility as a collector vehicle. The 6.0L V12 kicks out 304 b.h.p., which is still respectable today, though in the case of this car the seller definitely owes interested parties a robust accounting of its maintenance history. While it’s easy to get lost in the smoked taillights of the Jag, it’s important to remember these are not necessarily cheap cars to maintain.
The photos provided by the seller aren’t the best, but this appears to show a clean underside free from any major wetness. Though a Jaguar V12 sounds exotic, shifting action in the automatic transmission comes from a rather ordinary GM 4L80E four-speed. This at least should make the transmission a reasonably affordable repair compared to everything else on this British drop-top.
The body does appear to be quite straight, reinforcing the seller’s affirmation of “super overall condition” and “always shown love!” At the same time, with just 41,000 miles, one would expect the Jag to be preserved. Although convertibles aren’t my thing, I can’t imagine feeling much classier than I would behind the wheel of an XJS V12 droptop, the final model before the XJS was retired for its yawn-inducing XK8 sibling.
This car has Las Vegas, South Beach and Palm Springs written all over it!
Where d I put my polyester shirt, whitebucks and gold chain….
Love these cars, (I’ve got a ’96 with the I-6). They are wonderful touring machines and quite comfortable. By the end of the XJS’s run in 1996, they had actually evolved into pretty reliable cars. I believe the dreadful inboard-mounted rear brakes were gone by this time . . .
Yes, this car has the outboard brakes. Finally!
I had a series III E type that had the inboard brakes. The brakes were inboard for very good reasons, if you were interested in racing. Brakes are heavy and if you move them in closer to the centerline, you reduce some of the unwanted effects of that weight. It also meant that you reduced the amount of weight that your shocks/springs had to contend with. I believe this design was a holdover from the DType. I do not understand all of the physics for this design, but they did it for racing.
The rear spoiler looks silly.
Yeah, if it wasn’t already factory I would have not added one. Interesting note, the power antenna retracts if the trunk gets opened.
Just bought a hi mile 94 6cyl. Orig paint no rust all gauges work clock works, top works small tear in back seat back from top up and down. Looks like some leather work done. Good top. $2700. The trunk was locked and not opening. Fixed at repair shop. Running and shifting excellently. Was going to sell for $10 grand but was offered a free cruise Hawaii to Polynesian islands, New Zealand and Australia including air to and back for me and wife. Sold car in two weeks and doubled my money to buy extra days at both ends in rentals. Loved every day with the car. My regular ride is a 2000 XJ8.
I am really surprised that this car has a V12. The V12 was retired by Ford and replaced with a 4.0 ltr I6. I wonder if this is the engine that it came with from the factory. Very unusual and I would ask a lot of questions. I really like the XJS coupe over the convertible. When they first started making the XJS, they didn’t make a drop top, then they had a company that they hired to make them, then it seems like, at the end, the majority were convertibles. Maybe someone should run the VIN and find out about the engine.
Absolutely a factory engine. The 6.0 V12 was continued for another year but not in the XJS. Compared to the many 5.3 V12’s in early cars, this engine represents all the refinements and bug-cures learned since they first came out in late 70’s.
When Ford bought Jaguar they really hadn’t done much due diligence. Thus they didn’t know that much of the V12 was made on worn out equipment used to make the old 4.2 cast iron block six first used in the late 1940s.
While Ford spent some money updating the V12 and improving reliability early on they decided to go a different direction.
Jaguar made a batch of V12s in 1992 & 1994 the 1992 were 6.0 liter engines with Forged cranks and all the updates. The later batch while 6.0 liter had modular iron crankshafts.
That inventory was used through 1997 when the last of the V12s were made
I do not know much about making an engine from scratch, but what does equipment for casting a 4.2 ltr I6 do with a 5.3 ltr V12? I do not think that much if any equipment would or could be used because the engines are so different. What equipment are you talking about that would have made a significant difference in the quality of the V12?
Engine swaps in the XJS must be pretty straightforward. When I worked for a competing brand’s dealership in the early 90s, one of our more well-to-do customers brought in his bright red XJS with a dual-carb Chevy 454 stuffed in the engine bay.
Never was a fan of ‘lumped’ XJS Jaguars. If their owners just took the time to become educated on the V12, they’d realize what a jewel it was. BTW, the V12 is a 6000rpm motor, very short stroked. Unless the lumpers changed the rear end ratio, they’d have terrible mpg and and engine always straining.
A superb and very educational Jaguar XJS forum can be found at: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xjs-x27-32/
Nice, but not 16k nice.