Alex Unleashed on Cars- Jaguar XJ-S (The Ugly Kitten)
When a car is regarded as one of the all time greats, it can be tough to make a replacement that matches it, some get it right like the Fiat 500, BMW Mini and others struggle like the Ferrari 360. But what about the Jaguar XJ-S? A successor to the E-Type would be a hard act to follow, and for years, the XJ-S was seen as dropping the ball, but has time been kind to or not? The main criticism aimed at the XJ-S was it's styling. the XJ-S was first thought of as a mid-engined rival to match Ferrari and Maserati, but early on in development, Jaguar went back to a front-engined design, contrary to popular belief, the 'flying buttresses' behind the driver were designed for aerodynamics not for the engine layout. In fact, AutoCar once snook a look at an early prototype and said 'it was so ugly it would never make into production'. The engine was the same 5.3 litre V12 used in the E-Type and XJ12. Even with an automatic gearbox, the XJ-S could top 150 MPH and hit 60 in less ...