ANORAK’S GUIDE

SERIES I 2.8/4.2 & V12 (1968-’73)

59,077 built in 4.2 form, plus 874 LWB cars. No ‘Jaguar’ badges anywhere on the car at first, such was Lyons’ confidence in the public’s recognition of the shape. £2254 for non-overdrive car, £1897 for the 2.8 De Luxe; supposed ‘standard’ 2.8 with Ambla seats, manual steering and no rear armrest was never built. Auto-only XJ12S from 1972 were £3726 (the simpler grille had vertical bars only) and had four Zenith carbs plus a manual choke, giving 146mph and 11mpg. Mercedes engineers admitted that this V12 was “the best production engine in the world”.

SERIES II 2.8/3.4/4.2/5.3 (1973-’79)

The long-wheelbase 4.2 was far and away the most popular, at 57,804 cars out of a total of 127,000 SIIS (all engines and bodies). Short- and long-wheelbase versions at first, after which the SWB was reserved for the XJC coupés with 4in-longer doors. All four-door V12s were LWB, but still on carbs until the 285bhp/147mph injected 1975 car, badged XJ 5.3. ‘Blazer button’ steel wheels with hubcaps or GKN alloys on SII. Greatest oddity of the SII was the 170 exportonly 2.8s, but the 1975 3.4, with cloth seats and other luxury items deleted, is much preferred.

SERIES III 3.4/4.2/5.3 (1979-’92)

Injection for the 4.2 (the 3.4 stayed on SUS), and a limited range of solid colours on early cars from the troubled new Castle Bromwich body plant. Later improvements meant that with the final update for ‘sixes’ in 1985, Jaguar came fifth in that year’s JD Power customer satisfaction survey with the standard XJ6 (tweed trim) and Sovereign (leather trim) that bowed out in April 1987. Rare five-speed manual from the Rover SD1 later replaced four-speed, but most XK ‘sixes’ have Borg-warner auto; the GM400 was later mandatory with the V12, which became the HE in 1981, boosting economy to 20mpg.

DAIMLER SOVEREIGN & VDP (1969-’92)

Today the Daimler marque is dormant, but it was important to the XJ line-up until the early ’90s, for customers who thought Jaguar ownership a trifle racy. The first Xj-based 2.8/4.2 Sovereigns of ’69 featured overdrive, updated trim and a heated rear window. The V12 Daimlers, named Double-six, were first to get the long-wheelbase shell with the option of Vanden Plas trim. There were Sovereign and Double-six versions of the coupés, the latter very rare at 407 examples.