From $3,100 to $31,000 in 10 months.....The Jaguar XJS finally rises from it's slumber.
From $3,100 to $31,000 in 10 months.....The Jaguar XJS finally awakens from it's slumber.
The Jaguar XJS has been lying in wait for years, and years and years. These cars were designed as the replacement for the infamous E-Type, although have never lived up to expectations of the design team. The Coupe XJS was far more of a Grand Tourer than the E-Type, and was of course intended to be so, to take on some of the other GT cars of the time, especially for the U.S market. The car was originally launched on the 10th of September, 1975, following a long development that began in the 1960's. as project XJ27. the car was originally a Malcom Sayer design, although his death in 1970 meant that it was completed by the Jaguar design team, headed by Doug Thorpe.
These cars were quite quick for their day, considering the weight involved, as they achieved 0-100 km/hr in 7.6 seconds, and had a top end of 230 km/hr that came from the very impressive 5.3 litre V12 engine that had been installed into the l;ater Series III E-Type's. They also handled suprisingly well, mainly courtesy of the sensational IRS rear suspension subframe system, which featured inboard disc brakes for low unsprung weight, as well as utilising the drive shafts fro upeer suspension links . The front end was less exciting, really only having the anti-dive ingredient as a feature. That said, these cars worked, as the turn-in was quite crisp for a car with a V12 up front, with the rear end following very obediently unless provoked into oversteer, in which case they are still very controllable cars.
The chassis and geometry made them a real cadidate for circuit racing and so Tom Walkinshaw set about turning them into winners. This partnership ultimately led to a joint venture between the two known as Jaguarsport, and from this came the XJR-S, a 6 litre massively enhanced example.
In 1988 the Convertible was launched, after the unsuccessful XJS-C, which was a sort of 50/50 Targa and small convertible design.
The Coupe's were available in endless numbers in Australia up to 10 months ago for no money at all (all the ones that we purchased were for under AU$5,000), and most came with full history files and low mileage. Now, in late October, 2016, there are many examples selling for between $20,000 and $31,000. that is an appreciation of between 300 and 500% in under 12 months. We have called several of the owners of recenently advertised cars that are now withdrawn, and they have been sold for close to asking price. It would appear that the XJS's day has finally come.......