Emerging Classic

A marriage of Jaguar tradition and Ford engineering quality, the Jaguar XJ was a game- changing blend of grace, refinement and performance. After years of neglect, it is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

The X300 series XJs, blending Jaguar tradition and Ford engineering quality.

My late best friend and I once went to a world-famous hatter to purchase a Panama hat each. We then wafted back home along the Dorset coast, stopping at a hostelry for refreshment on the way. It was a wonderful, leisurely, middle-aged jaunt, and his XJ6 was the perfect conveyance for the mission.

Stuart had an eclectic taste in cars, which he bought with his heart rather than his head. He was a dreamer, whose whims and fancies were expressed by the vehicles in which he disported himself. One of the high points of his carowning career was the 1995 Jaguar XJ6 which he acquired from a marque enthusiast in Hampshire. Stuart loved it, and so did anyone lucky enough to ride along in it. The Jaguar lent a sense of high occasion to even the most mundane of journeys. It was large, beautiful, refined, fairly rapid and fitted out inside like a Mayfair club. And unlike many of Stuart’s automobiles, it was solid and reliable.

Although its production life lasted a mere three years, the X300 XJ series was a turning point for Jaguar. The company was detached from British Leyland in 1984, and acquired by Ford in 1990 – an early part of a 20-year period of investment in premium automotive brands that in Jaguar’s case would end in 2008 with its sale to Tata. When Ford took over, the marque’s principal product was the XJ40 saloon. In an attempt to modernise the legendary XJ6 of the 1970s, Jaguar had succeeded in erasing the XJ’s beauty while continuing its woeful build quality and reliability issues. A top cat the XJ40 was not.

The X300 fixed this in a stroke – a fluid, graceful masterstroke. Ford’s investment in design, development and manufacturing created a modern, well-built automobile with great driving dynamics, extremely good looks and a stunning cabin. The X300 was exactly what the market had been hoping for, and many buyers took a sidestep from serial ownership of premium German cars to dip their toe in the great British driving experience.

Despite being a quantum leap forward, the new XJ was not an all-new car. It can be regarded in many ways as an evolution of the XJ40, but it was an evolution executed with vastly-improved manufacturing processes such as robotic welding, which created a reliable, durable and refined car. The aesthetic success was achieved by bringing back the original XJ6’s hallmark traits – low tail, long nose, slightly sinuous side profile, four round headlamps under a scalloped bonnet – all in a neatlymodernised package. The X300 looked the way one expected a Jaguar to look.

It sounded right, too. Jaguar revised and re- engineered its engines for the X300 with great success. Three versions of the excellent AJ16 inline six- cylinder unit were available, providing 216, 245 and 322bhp. (It’s worth noting that a V12-engined model was also manufactured, designated X305, but here we are looking at the six- cylinder cars.) The Six came in 3.2 and 4.0-litre versions, and the highest output

was achieved by the thoroughly British trick of adding a supercharger to the four-litre motor. It powered the XJR highperformance model, which was remarkably only Jaguar’s second foray into forced induction – the first being the madcap, turbocharged XJ220 hypercar of 1992. The XJR was so well received that supercharged saloons bearing the same name have been a feature of its product range ever since.

In comparison to the presentday XJR, its 1994 forefather was a thoroughly restrained beast. It could blast to 60mph in under six seconds, but apart from a lack of chrome trim and 17in wheels there was little to distinguish it from its more sedate siblings. The XJR should appear on any car geek’s list of the world’s greatest Q cars.

The X300 excelled by catering well for a wide range of tastes. Thanks to the XJ6 and – especially – the XJ40, Jaguar saloons had become regarded as the sole preserve of elderly men with a penchant for the occasional round of golf, not-too-discerning fellows with a taste for leathery luxury but little need for real performance. Offering the X300 in a diverse range of models was a clever move, and paved the way for the wide customer appeal that Jaguar enjoys today. Alongside the XJR sat the ‘basic’ 3.2-litre (although the 4.0-litre engine later became available) XJ6, the more luxurious Sovereign, the tauter XJ Sport and Executive designation – which was effectively the run- out XJ6 for 1997. Long-wheelbase versions of the non-sporting models were also available.

The X300 sold well in both the USA and the UK, mainly because it was a thoroughly decent car that encouraged people to step away from tried and trusted German marques to enjoy a spot of great British luxury. However, because of what had gone before, the first modern Jaguar never enjoyed the residuals that its Teutonic rivals did. In fact, after a few years an XJ was worth very little. Stuart bought his wellmaintained, 18-year- old model for a shade under £1500. Tragically, after several years of fun, some rust had set in and an MoT failure left it sitting on his drive. He had by then fallen in love with another British icon – a P38 Range Rover – and the Jaguar was sold to a local lad who may well have taken it banger racing. The price involved at this point was a single bottle of red wine.

This is a sadly familiar tale, old Jags becoming so cheap that relatively minor mechanical issues rendered them fit for scrap or the banger track. Regrettable though this is, it means that today this is quite a rare car, with survivors being examples that are lovingly and scrupulously maintained. The X300 has passed through the storm, and prices are rising accordingly, as a decent XJ is today an appreciating asset as well as an incredibly enjoyable car to own. And running one is a surprisingly practical proposition. There is a great deal of enthusiast support, while parts are remarkably easy to find and not overwhelmingly expensive. A little research on the Internet and membership of an active owners’ club can make locating and running a decent X300 a hazard-free experience.

After just three years the X300 had made Jaguar’s case so comprehensively that the company did it all over again, bringing in a V8-engined range that further evolved the model. Personal experience tells me that this X300 generation of Jaguar XJ is one of the greats. It is the perfect confluence of British style, genuine beauty and proper engineering, and right now it can be had for attainable money. A small extra budget for quality headgear may also have to be set aside, however. The XJ is simply that kind of automobile.