1995 Jaguar XJS Celebration Coupe

This one is a very smart and well looked-after 4-litre example. It’s covered 93,000 miles though with much lighter use in recent years. That was one reason its previous owner parted with it to our vendor, a classic car trader – it wasn’t getting enjoyed enough. Our vendor tells us that a nudge from the owners wife, connected with raising funds for a daughter’s wedding, may also have played a part!

It comes with a very nice private plate – N6 XJS – which just happens to be the correct registration letter for 1995, too. It retains those ‘Aerosport’ diamond-cut wheels exclusive to the Celebration models and all the interior features that make these last XJSs such a nice place to be.

It drives very well indeed, is tested until next July and needs nothing for immediate use and enjoyment.

We reckon this paint finish is Sapphire, a shade restricted to the last two years of XJS production and a really beautiful blue when the sunlight hits it; there’s quite a lot of metallic in there. It’s hard to find fault anywhere; there are no bubbles, blisters, significant scratches or parking dings. Only the end of the long snout, the bonnet area a few inches above and behind the grille, is marked by small stone-chips. They may be once tiny touch-in under the nearside pinstripe.

The brightwork trim strips, lamp clusters and bumper assemblies all fit tightly and neatly together suggesting none of it has ever been apart. Indeed, the panel gaps and shut-lines are immaculate wherever you look. Both number plates are undamaged and bear the ‘Weybridge Jaguar’ logo, whose sticker is also in the rear window.

Those diamond-cut wheels may have been re-polished or they may simply have been kept clean and looked after, but they’re damn nearly as good as new. They wear Avon ZV3 rubber in 225/55 R16. Door mirrors, glass and those handsome smoke-coloured rear lamp lenses all look unmarked, as do the twin exhaust tips. It’s wearing its miles very lightly indeed.

Wow – the interior has survived in remarkable condition. The driver’s seat, as you might expect, shows more creasing and patination than the other perches, but overall the cream leather upholstery resembles the kind of handbag that’s too expensive for daily use!

The passenger footwell has a rust spot on the pan, not unusual for these cars & vintage.

After this, it’s no surprise to find how nice the rest of the materials are: clean, tight-fitting carpets, excellent headliner, smart veneers. The ‘sapwood’ timber could be expensive to put right if it suffered, but it all looks factory fresh, bar some lacquer cracks on the gearknob. Even the toothbrush bristles in the gear selector are still quite straight, something that often goes with older, higher-mileage cars.

In the boot we find a Dunlop SP Sport tyre, older than you’d want to use every day but fine for a spare. The carpets and lining of the boot itself are very presentable and the gas struts hold the boot lid up nicely. There is a CD changer for the original Jaguar head-unit.

Once again, it’s hard to find fault. The big ‘six’ comes to life with just a second or two of churning and idles beautifully. It’s between classic and modern in the sound it makes: not the noisy mechanical rasp and howl of an XK engine, but not a boring modern hum either. Rev it, and there’s a characterful whoosh that promises plenty of performance.

It’s all there on the road, according to our vendor, who said this one drives ‘incredibly well’. Older Jaguar XJ saloons and XJS models have kept a bit of a secret from the uninitiated; those that still drive like new, as this one does, have a silky combination of smoothness and poise that shames almost any current model. This is exactly what you paid all that money for back in 1995.

Lifting the bonnet, we find more and more encouraging signs. The little corners that collect leaves and grot, leading to lifting paint and rust staining, are all clean and dry. Check the bonnet hinges, the gutters and the inner wings. The engine itself is clean and dry, and you could say the same for all the ancillaries.

Slide under this low-slung GT and you’ll find an encouraging mixture of sound, dry-looking underseal and paint, steel components with the merest surface corrosion and healthy-looking bushes, brake lines and gaiters. Only the plastic underside of its low nose shows much marking - speed bumps and high kerbs have left scratches.

The aircon has been neatly, but completely, removed. We don't know why. Lastly, the rear brakes warning light is illuminated on the dash, but that could be due to the fact that the reservoir looks very low.

There’s a recent vehicle history check (earlier this month!) revealing no skeletons in the closet, and showing only a plate change from one private number to the current one when the car was a year old.

Service history consists of a well-stamped book and a number of receipts, with most of the ink marks from the first ten years coming from the same Jaguar dealer in Surrey. The most recent stamp comes from an independent Porsche specialist in Kent, dated July 2020 at 93,209 miles. The V5C confirms a total of six owners.

All of the original Jaguar owners’ books and records come with the car in a handsome leather wallet. There are some old MoTs to support the mileage, while the current one expires on July 25th 2022.

One of the perks – or possibly downsides – of writing up these listings is that we spend a few hours looking very closely at all aspects of the car, and quite often developing a serious ‘want’. This is one of those. If you’re already partial to big, smooth, fast GT cars with leather-lined cabins and loads of toys, it’s hard not to picture yourself crossing continents in this lovely old thing.

Not that it feels old, by classic car standards or indeed by condition. It’s one of the last and best of a great Jaguar lineage, one that’s steadily gaining respect and value as an accepted classic with each passing year. So they’re not cheap any longer. We think this one will sell for between £11,500 and £18,000.

Not cheap? It still feels like excellent value compared with the much less sporting and less spacious Mercedes SL, or indeed the much more complex and intimidating Porsche 928. It beat them back in the day and it still beats them now.

Viewing is always encouraged and as stated this car is located at THE MARKET headquarters near Abingdon; we are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing to make an appointment. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.