1976 Jaguar XJS

This is one of those rare manual gearbox cars. It’s from the first year of production, 1976, and so really is the purest form of XJ-S out there. (The famous rear buttresses upset the German authorities so much they refused to type approve the car, claiming rear visibility was compromised.)

But not only is this a very rare early XJ-S with a manual gearbox, it’s covered just 10,860 miles in its 47 year history. On top of this the car has had just two owners from new. It’s never been driven in the wet, never been near a salty road and has led a totally cosseted life. This car hasn’t been restored, it’s survived in this remarkable condition. We’ve never seen another like it.

With that in mind please bear in mind that we’re simply pointing out the small faults we spotted. The overall condition of the car is astonishing.

There’s a tiny paint blemish offside at the leading edge of the front wheel arch and a small mark on the offside front wing just above the headlight. The nearside front wing has a small scratch just behind the headlight and there are some tiny marks on the paint of the offside rear wheel arch lip. There are also some minor chips and scrapes, variation in colour and some micro blistering on the boot lid and roof. Clearly paintwork to the car has been carried out over the years, but in our opinion, much of it remains original.

The chrome headlight surrounds have some light crazing and there are some small scuffs on the rubber bumpers. But this car is 47 years old and unrestored. The bodywork is factory straight, the wheels are lovely (with new tyres) and the feel of the car is quite unlike any other XJ-S we’ve encountered. It’s a time warp machine.

Both front seat squab bases are crazed – strangely the passenger one is worse than the driver’s side. The rear seat base is also crazed. This is obviously just from age rather than use, and it looks to us as though a good application of hide food would improve these areas quite considerably and fairly easily.

The glovebox lid is slightly dented and the nearside transmission tunnel has four screw holes in it that presumably held some kind of mobile phone adaptor at some point in the past.

The headlining is in good order and all the switchgear looks as though it’s hardly been used – which it hasn’t. Even the original radio blanking plate is still in place, and the rubber boot around the base of the gearstick looks like new.

So does the original steering wheel, sitting on front of the tumbler dial dashboard. There’s no wood in here – Jaguar was moving on and modernising, although later cars resorted to traditional wooden trim to appease the old school buyer.

This cabin is something else. Early cars like this have a ’70s charm that later models lost, but this one is not only full of period vibes, it’s all original. The manual gearstick sprouting from the transmission tunnel is such a rare sight too. Even looking at the clutch pedal is quite exciting!

There’s some light surface corrosion of the alloy plenums under the bonnet, but this engine has covered fewer than 11,000 miles. Is there a lower mileage original Jaguar V12 in existence? We doubt it. Obviously it starts, idles and runs like a new engine – why wouldn’t it? It’s quite literally just about run in.

The engine bay is totally standard in appearance and, bearing in mind the original nature of this car, in superb condition. In 2019 the gearbox was professionally overhauled at a cost of more than £3000.

The current custodian of this amazing XJ-S has owned it for the last seven years, and he bought it from the man who bought it as a new car back in 1976.

The owner says:

‘The car has all its original documentation and tools with it and its mileage of under 11,000 is fully substantiated by the full history and by the obvious condition of the car. The car has never needed restoration – it has never been driven in the wet or on salty roads.

‘It has had service work and mechanical attention lavished upon it – most recently a replacement clutch, new fuel injectors (NOS originals), new shock absorbers and suspension bushes, new Pirelli tyres, all oils and fluids changed and a complete service. All the details are in the history file.

‘It is a unique car – a manual transmission pre-HE XJS is incredibly rare, far more rare than an ‘outside bonnet lock 3.8 E Type’! An 11,000 mile car with original paint (mostly), trim, carpets, tools, paperwork, full history and only two owners from new. There simply cannot be another one like it.

‘I bought it as a unique collectors’ piece and drove it sparingly on dry days only – it was like driving a brand new car. The condition, aside from some paint fading and the inevitable few chips and dings is ‘untouched original’.

‘One recollection that amused me was my finding a chap crawling underneath the car when it was parked in the local market town on a sunny Saturday afternoon. He emerged with his ruler to tell me that he loved the XJ-S and had always wanted to know the real gap between factory original spot-welds!

‘The car is completely standard and pretty much untouched beyond maintenance. The numbers – body, engine, gearbox are all correct and original.

‘Anybody who looks twice at this listing will not need a lot of convincing about how special this car is, as they will surely have knowledge of the Jaguar XJ-S, particularly these very early cars and how they were produced at British Leyland’s nadir of quality control.

‘They all went horribly rusty if they ever got damp, they all suffered from desperate lack of care as their number of disappointed owners rose inexorably before the cars ended up ‘underneath the arches’ or in the breakers yard, before the appreciation of this iconic design began so long after they had all died. The restored ones just don’t compare with this car – and the cost to restore an XJ-S would be 6 figures.

‘The last major service was a thorough mechanical overhaul with rear cage out, new shocks, discs and callipers, wheel bearings etc etc. All done just because the 40+ year old and relatively little used wearing parts were due for replacement.

‘I need to downsize home and garaging capacity and if nobody wants this car, something else will go and the XJ-S will be welcomed back home. There really is not another like it –and they are only original once.’

A unique opportunity to acquire what is without doubt the most original, low mileage Jaguar XJ-S V12 manual we’ve ever seen.

We estimate this vehicle to fetch between £30,000 - £40,000 in auction.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.