1986 Jaguar XJS - XJ-S 3.6 Coupé

Six-cylinder Coupé with the desirable manual gearbox

With the consignor in Austria for ten years

Regularly driven and serviced by its owner

The sportiest version of the XJ-S

When Jaguar introduced the XJ-S in 1975, it had a thoroughly thankless job: it had to follow the E-Type. In place of the latter’s slender curves came broad flanks, a distinctive elongated rear end and plenty of 1970s geometry. Beneath the long bonnet, there was initially only the mighty V12. The XJ-S, however, had no intention of being another E-Type. It was a fast, luxurious Gran Turismo – and simply needed a little time before the public understood that too.

In 1983, the twelve-cylinder was joined by some company. With the XJ-S 3.6 came Jaguar’s new AJ6 straight-six, initially available exclusively in the Coupé. From its 3,590 cc it produced 225 bhp. Particularly when combined with the five-speed manual gearbox, it gave the big Jaguar a character all of its own. Less of a sovereign V12 express, perhaps, but more eager to rev, more agile and a good deal closer to the traditional British sports car.

Externally, the six-cylinder remained pleasingly discreet. There may have been only half as many cylinders beneath the bonnet, but the XJ-S had lost none of its presence. And a top speed of more than 220 km/h was hardly modest either.

Jaguar continued to develop the XJ-S over the years. In 1991 came a comprehensive revision, now known simply as the XJS without the hyphen. The six-cylinder grew from 3.6 to 4.0 litres, while the V12 eventually increased from 5.3 to 6.0 litres. By then, the once critically regarded successor had long since emerged from the formidable shadow of the E-Type. The XJ-S had simply taken a little longer to get there.

The current owner brought this manual XJ-S 3.6 Coupé to Austria ten years ago. Fully intending to remove the conspicuous graphics as his first job, he was so surprised by the unexpectedly positive reactions to them that he decided to leave the Jaguar exactly as it was. Although never registered in Austria, the XJ-S was driven regularly and, in autumn 2022 at just under 95,000 kilometres, underwent extensive maintenance. This included changing all fluids, overhauling all four brakes, renewing the front ball joints, replacing the clutch master cylinder and greasing the rear axle.

Just in time for the photo shoot, however, the fuel pump decided to go on strike. Whatever the Jaguar may be trying to tell us, a few straightforward jobs should be enough to sort that out. Then the XJ-S can once again prove that a really good Gran Turismo needs little more than six cylinders, five gears and plenty of British eccentricity.