Jaguar XJ

The Jaguar XJ was a lavish saloon manufactured by the British Jaguar marquee in 1968. It was developed as the Jaguar flagship model for majority of its production time that sustains till date.

Series I (1968–1973)

The Series I Jaguar XJ used 4.2 L (4235 cc/258 in³) and 2.8 L (2790 cc/170 in³) straight-six cylinder editions of most popular XK engine of Jaguar. With the exception of engines, the other important part that was absent in earlier models was the IRS unit.

The car was launched in 1968 with the inclusion of standard leather upholstery and power-steering on the 2.8 L ‘De Luxe’ model, whereas the 4.2 L models were offered with air conditioning as an additional feature. A strange feature inherited in the Jaguar was twin fuel tanks.

Series II (1973–1979)

The Jaguar Series II was face-lifted during late 1973 and it entered the markets in 1974. From 1975, along with the standard 4.2L I-6-cylinder engine, there were two more engines included as optional offerings; a 3.4 L (3442 cc/210 in³) version and a 5.3L V12 XJ12 version.

The Series II models got repudiated by their bad build quality. During early days, the Series II was provided with 2 wheelbases. However, the Jaguar announced and released its famous third wheelbase with extra four-inches known as ‘traditional wheel base’ at the London Motor Show, in the year 1974.

XJ Coupe

In the period of 1975 and 1978, the XJ Coupe was developed with a pillar less hardtop body known as the XJ-C. The XJ-C was designed as a 2-door XJ coupe. Actually, this was launched in 1973 at the London Motor Show. But, it was not ready for production at that time. So, the launch was delayed and finally, fully fledged XJ coupe emerged in the markets after two years. It was a XJ’s short wheelbase version in which, the elongated doors of coupe were made from an extended traditional XJ front door

With the inclusion of a retractable canvas top, some XJ-C’s were changed by Avon into convertibles; however, it was not a factory-made accessory. Both 12-cyl and 6-cylinder versions were provided in later years. Even after a good deal of delay, the XJ Coupe wasn’t made to perfection and these coupes were badly affected by water leaks, and had greater wind noise.