JAGUAR XJ12

Year of manufacture 1973 Recorded mileage 80,959 Asking price £25,000 Vendor The Classic Motor Hub, Bibury, Gloucestershire; 01242 384092; classicmotorhub.com

WHEN IT WAS NEW Price £3726 Max power 266bhp Max torque 301lb ft 0-60mph 7.5 secs Top speed 140mph Mpg 11

This long-wheelbase, three-owner late Series 1 XJ12 is very original and well preserved, and may have never been fully repainted. There’s some microblistering in places (roof and rear wing-tops), and a telltale touch-up can of Fern Grey in the boot, but the windows look as if they’ve never been out and the body appears entirely rot-free. The front end is lightly sandblasted but the rear wheelarch lips are still smooth internally, the rear valance and exhaust are fine and the sill joints, floors and front subframe are still sharply defined. New fasteners on the rear suspension and subframe suggest recent care.

Sadly, there are no supporting bills, though it does still have its original handbooks and Passport to Service booklet, with nine stamps to 24,815 miles on 4 March 1976. It was sold shortly afterwards for £2600, showing exactly 25,000 miles. Handwritten notes of fuel usage take over from 61,137 miles in ’06, when it went to Belgium, to 80,894. The decent bumper chrome is original and the tyres are well-treaded Vredesteins, with an older Goodyear spare.

Inside, the leather is original and lightly worn, and the carpets, headlining and timber are good. The Radiomobile radio still has its handbook.

The engine is tidy and the ignition module looks to have been remounted higher than its normal place, where heat caused problems on these and the V12 E-types, and there’s an extra electric fan on the front of the radiator. The oil is darkish and to ‘max,’ with plenty of coolant.

Having been standing for a while, it starts after a churn, with a little rich smoke that soon clears. It drives as if it’s never been significantly apart, with smooth gearchanges, and tracks and brakes straight. Oil pressure is 60psi at 3000rpm, with the temperature halfway up the scale. The generator might not be charging; regardless, it will be by the time the car is sold. All four electric windows and the clock work – the air-con tries its best.

It will come with an MOT and UK registration upon request, with every chance its original number remains available.