1979 Jaguar XJS

Jonathan is the keeper of this lovely, low mileage 1979 Pre-HE Jaguar XJS, and has owned the car for the past 3 years . It has had 5 keepers prior to Jonathan owning it, with the last 3 of those being from the same family, father, mother and son.

The Jag started life as a rubber bumper XJS with the registration number Cat 53, and it was even featured in a Jaguar book. It is believed that in the mid 1980’s, the owner at the time returned the car to the TWR factory to have the Tom Wilkinshaw Racing (TWR) body kit, wheels and steering wheel fitted, after TWR started to produce the kit in 1984.

Clearly, it’s been enthusiast owned over the years, as you can see from the plaques from the shows the car has attended. With such low mileage at 65,690, the Jag is only just at the beginning of its life. The lack of use in recent years has brought on the decision to part with this wonderful Jaguar XJS.

This 1985 XJS is finished in the lovely Signal Red, which has clearly been well maintained and cared for throughout its life. It has been repainted some time ago, possibly when the car was returned to the factory for the fitment of the TWR body kit.

Starting at the front of the V12, the chrome grille is in good order with the chrome bars nice and straight. The headlight surrounds are finished in black with no damage to the lenses. The rubber bumpers were binned in favour of the more smooth and modern TWR bumper, which has a few expected stone chips. The bonnet aligns as it should, with an even panel gap running down both edges. At the top of the bonnet, the windscreen surround has a bright finish, and there are no obvious marks to the windscreen that stand out.

Around to the shapely flanks of the Jaguar, the door shut lines are nice and equal and there are no dings or dents upsetting the long lines of the XJS. Chrome touches such as the mirrors and door handles stand well against the red paintwork. There is just some light surface tarnishing to the trim around the windows which may possibly clean up. To match the bumper there are the additional TWR side skirts fitted. The common areas such as the rear arches, we are pleased to say, look to be free from any signs of corrosion.

Onto the rear, the boot lid aligns well with the shapely rear quarters of the XJS, leading up to the narrow rear window. The light clusters are free from any cracks, and finishing off the TWR body kit is the bumper and boot spoiler.

Fitted with Speedline TWR alloy wheels, these are in excellent condition with no damage to the rim which we could see, and there is no corrosion to the faces. The tyres are in good condition, with a good amount of tread remaining.

The XJS is finished with an oatmeal tan colour leather, which is in a nice original condition. There is a small section where the leather has worn through on the piping on the driver’s side bolster, but other than that the front and rear seats are in really good condition, much better than you would imagine for the age of the vehicle.

A black dashboard and fascia house the instruments which are reported to be working as they should, and the odometer is showing 65,690 miles. The original steering wheel is fitted but there is the slightly smaller TWR wheel included. Some of the switches sit within a brushed alloy trim, and are in excellent order. Just below is the original factory fit Sharp radio cassette player and the heater controls which are also in good order, with no wear to the lettering.

The carpets are generally in good condition, with just some small patches showing on the edges of the footwell where people's feet have been resting over the years, and some light scuffing to the driver’s heel pad. Quite common on vehicles of this age, the headlining has started to come unstuck and sag a little in a few places.

In the spacious boot, the spare wheel and cover sit at the back, with the jack to the left. The carpet is in a nice clean condition, and lifting the carpet you will see the boot floor, which also looks to be in good order. Often missing, but not in this case, is the original tool kit.

The V12 fires up with ease and, as you would expect with any V12, it sounds amazing when the loud pedal is pressed. Jonathan reports that the car drives wonderfully. It pulls effortlessly through the 3-speed automatic gearbox, and the change is nice and smooth.

The underside of the Jaguar is generally in good condition. There are some areas of light surface corrosion around the suspension components that could be nipped in the bud to preserve the XJS from any future problems.

The engine bay is nicely presented and shows the V12 in an original state, which all looks to be in good order, with no oil seepage that we could see.

This lovely 1979 Jaguar XJS was in the same family for the previous 3 owners prior to the vendor owning it. It's clearly been a cherished car as you can tell from the low mileage and number of plaques collected from classic, enthusiast car shows.

The Jaguar has been in storage for many years, as can be seen from the MoT history. After a commissioning service the car was put through an MoT on the 16th April 2021, which it passed with no advisories. Prior to that, the previous MoT was in 2014 and 2006 before that. Clearly, keeping the car in dry storage for all these years has certainly paid off in keeping this 1979 Jaguar in such good condition.

There is some paperwork with the car from previous work carried out, and old MoT certificates. There is also the original driver’s handbook present.

Please note the number plate on the Jaguar has now been removed and the car is now registered with ERC 752T.

Well this adorable XJS has covered just 223 miles in the past 15 years, not exactly in the daily driver class!

What's not to love about it? You get the more modern looks with the TWR body kit, the interior is just nicely bedded in, the car has been enthusiast owned, low ownership, low mileage, dry stored for 15 years and a recent service and inspection to ensure everything is as it should be for the new keeper.

This 1979 British classic has certainly got a lot going for it, and we estimate the XJS to bring in the region of between £7,000 - £11,000.

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.