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 than 8 seconds. Even so, the XJ-S had problems.

The biggest was the electrics, made by Lucas who are notorious for shoddy electrical parts and it was all assembled by British Leyland, not exactly known for good quality control, various other components such as suspension bushes and electrical plugs are known for being poor quality, so much so British Leyland directors refused to have XJ-S' as company cars. The other problem was fuel consumption, drive an XJ-S hard and you'll get single digit MPG. This also came at a time when fuel shortages were common due to the Oil Crisis' that made sales frustratingly low, production stopped in '81 to clear out cars.

So, Jaguar slotted in the 3.6 litre straight 6 from the XJ saloon that thankfully was more economical. Performance was slower but it still packed the glamourous coupe looks. As for the V12, this became known as the HE (High Efficiency) model with the 'Fire Ball' combustion chamber to give more power and better efficiency.

The XJ-S would later become quite the racing sensation in touring cars, run by TWR Motorsport who also ran Jaguar's Group C program, V12 XJS' battled Rover SD1's on race tracks across Britain, Europe and Australia and had plenty of wins to their name. 

Jaguar then introduced the XJR-S for 1988, an even more powerful sportier model, with 328 BHP from it's 5.3 V12 mated to a 3-speed auto box but could still hit 160 MPH.

As time progressed people warmed to the XJ-S' styling, and Jaguar kept on improving it, they introduced bigger 4 and 6 litre engines that could power the old cat to 161 MPH, faster than newer metal like the Merc SL500 or BMW 840CI, and at a much cheaper price. A facelift came as well that showed the XJ-S had lost none of it's glamour even after over 15 years on sale, with the later convertible model proving particularly popular.

Fuel consumption and electrics were still big problems even once Ford took over but general quality was up, the XJ-S finished 7th/120 in the 1998 JD Power Customer Satisfaction Survey ahead of the Toyota Celica and BMW 3-Series.

Eventually it came to retire the old XJ-S in 1996 after 21 years of service, it was originally supposed to have been replaced by the F-Type in the late 80s but that later became the Aston DB7 of which it's chassis can be traced back to the XJ-S. A final run of Celebration models were made complete with special alloy wheels and colour coordinated bumpers before the XK8 took over in late '96.

Whilst early on, the XJ-S was disliked for a variety of reasons, time is a great healer and as quality and performance improved people began to warm to it and in the end it was a genuinely good and capable car. If you want one now, go for a late 4.0 example, best all-rounder, though make sure it's a well looked after one.

Year Produced: 1975-1996

Engine: 3.6/4.0 Litre Straight 6 - 5.3/6.0 V12

Top Speed: 148 -161 MPH

0-60: 7.8 - 6.0 Seconds

Power: 221 - 328 BHP

Torque: 239 - 355 Ib/ft

Weight: 1950 - 1660 KG

Rivals: Mercedes SL, Porsche 928, Ferrari 400/412, BMW 8-Series