1990 Jaguar XJS V12 Convertible Auto *Sold £1,250*

Description

• Stored since 2011
• Recommission required
• Current ownership since 2002
• In rare, unrestored, original condition
• Starts, runs and drives
• Very, very low reserve

Our vendor, describes this classic XJS as “barn find, that was never lost”. All along he knew just where it was. Now the time has come to part with it and believe us when we say, someone is going to bag a very genuine V12 XJS convertible at an incredible price.

We expect considerable interest in the classic Jaguar, however, in a short article about the XJS we do not think we’ll be able to cover all your queries. So just ring or email us and we’ll answer them as we go.

We, and the vendor, would actively encourage viewing of this XJS to see for yourself just what condition the car is in. Again, just give us a shout and we’ll make the arrangements. Just remember guys, you are viewing to bid, not to gawp! We’d understand you gawping, but…

History

When a car remains in production almost unaltered for 21 years it is a genuinely is a classic car.

With the last E-types rolling off the production line in 1974 Jaguar needed a worthy successor.  As early as the 1968 Jaguar was thinking ahead. It designated the initial project a codename; XJ21. This morphed in to the XJ 27/28 and after many internal discussions Jaguar finally settled on XJS.

On the 10 September 1975 Jaguar revealed the XJS to the world.  The car was aimed squarely at the Mercedes SL customers and to help lure customers away from the German marque, it was priced at nearly £2,000 less on launch.

In V12 5.3ltr form, the XJS a true supercar, with performance of 155mph and 0-60 in 7.3 seconds. As models developed, Jaguar made subtle changes making the XJS even better. Journalists delighted their readers with tales of travelling at 100 mph in near total silence.  The public couldn’t get enough of the XJS either

The late 1980’s are accepted as the hey-day for the Jaguar XJS. Dealers had waiting lists of six months plus and cars were changing hands at large premiums.

Now, late 80’s cars, before Jaguar was sold off to Ford, are highly prized. Especially original ones.

This XJS convertible

This XJS is owned by a prominent member of the very popular Classic and Sports Car Club in Essex  Matching Green Classic & Sports Car Club

JR acquired the XJS on 10 March 2002. He told us, “I bought it 20 years ago from couple who took it to Spain. They then brought the XJS back to the UK as they couldn’t drive over there in the sunshine as they’d both got sunstroke!”  Convertibles.. nice in practice, eh, but not quite so good in sunnier climes!

They could have bought a couple of sun hats and driven sedately, but hey-ho.

The classic XJS is in clean unrestored, original condition. The last MOT on the XJS was 22 November 2010. As the tax disc shows, about six months later the XJS went in to storage, and that is where it stayed. JR has  number of cars. One of which is a Lynx. The only reason to move on this time warp XJS is to devote more time to that.

The V12 is a legendary engine and despite what people say it is a remarkably reliable piece of engineering. As if proof were needed, when our vendor finally made the decision this classic Jaguar had to go he tells us, “Amazingly, considering it hadn’t moved for many years, with a freshly charged battery it fired instantly & ran happily”

That is simply incredible. He goes on to give, in our view, a very open appraisal of the classic Jag.

“Barn find that was never lost, just not used as the tax disc shows, so I have to describe it as a bit of a project car.

Amazingly, considering it hadn’t moved for many years, with a freshly charged battery it fired instantly & ran happily. Needless to say, no MOT & the tyres are getting old so would have to be trailered away. The main problems are:

Some kind rodent has chewed the head lining. The windows & roof don’t respond to their switches, looking at the wiring diagram this could just be a high resistance at the common point (I can hear a very quiet noise which could mean not many volts getting to the motors). The boot refuses to latch. These could be easy fixes, I just don’t have the time, especially as I have my other XJS to get back on the road after 3 years”

Our vendor describes this “as a bit of a project car”. It is, in a way, but it’s not a basket case of a car, as you see from the images.

To validate that, there is a MOT history on-line going back to 2005. The Jaguar has done little mileage, but more importantly there are no advisories or failures mentioning corrosion. We are advised that the only petrol it has had since 2011 was the 2 litres of Esso Supreme 99+ that our vendor put in before starting it, so it probably has never seen any ethanol!

Externally, the paint works looks original and sound. The brightwork looks good, including the expensive, gazillion piece bumpers which rot away just for the fun of it. On the inside, the cream leather seats are all in one piece.

JR talks about the mouse that lost its cheese. The images show some damage to the internal headlining. We suspect a SMART repair guy would eat that for breakfast, just like the mouse did.

Our view

A rare opportunity to own the best model Jaguar XJS V12 convertible. One that has been owned by an avid enthusiast for 20 years, stored for 11 or them, that fired up and ran with a new fresh battery – at a fraction of the current market value.

It is in original un-molested condition, a rare opportunity indeed. Yes it needs improvement. Yes it needs recommissioning. But, no, not an expensive restoration.

Decent V12 XJS convertibles of this vintage are now valued around £10-12,000. Very good ones are over £15k. And the top 10% stand-out, Jaguar XJS convertibles are £20k plus.

When we say our sensible and realistic vendor is selling this at a fraction of those numbers we do mean a fraction. It is close to being a no reserve car as you can get. We suspect the first one or two bids will take it through the reserve. Don’t miss this remarkable opportunity. Good luck.

Contact us if you’d like any questions answered.

Vehicle Location: Essex CM22– it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor

Have a question about this vehicle? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

Tedious but it’s vital you read this, please.

We will always strive to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available. However, we can’t claim to be perfect. Your own analysis is very important and we are here to help and also answer any and all queries you may have prior to purchase.

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