1990 Jaguar XJ40 XJR

First registered in January 1990 by the Paramount Cars Jaguar dealership in Derby and supplied to Thomas Robinson Ltd, this 1990 4.0-litre XJR with a 4-speed ZF automatic transmission, has had 8 previous owners and has covered over 141,000 miles in its 31 years.

The last owner, from the south coast, owned the car for almost 10 years. Recently sold into the trade, it’s been driven about 80 miles recently without any issues.

Finished in Jet Black, with a tan pinstripe coach line, the car could look rather handsome but a previous owner has put quite a dark tint on all the windows and across the front indicators and tail light clusters which gives it more of a “gangsta” look. The boot spoiler, available as an optional extra when new, adds to this vibe.

At first glance, the paint and bodywork doesn’t look in too bad a condition though for a leggy 30+ year old car, but closer to you can see numerous chips, scuffs and scratches here and there, a small dint in the upper bonnet, rust taking hold behind the nearside front wheel arch and bubbling at the base of the both C-pillars. The fibreglass rear bumper has also had a light impact on the nearside corner.

The car sits on its original 16-inch Speedline alloy wheels, which are mostly in a good condition with just a small chip on one of them. All are fitted with matching Hankook Ventus Prime tyres dating from 2016 on the front and 2014 on the driven rears.

The interior looks a little lived in, with a light patina across the magnolia leather, but the seats are exceedingly comfortable. Whilst they don’t give you the full hug, they certainly gently snuggle up to you from the sides.

The dash, control panels and door tops also have wood veneer trims with inlaid strips of a lighter wood.

The grab handle over the passenger door has detached but has been retained in the glove box - probably not a massive job to refit it.

The black carpets and fitted overmats throughout look clean and intact and are, we understand, recent replacements for the original beige coloured flooring as seen in the boot. The headlining too was replaced by the last owner.

In the centre console, a Sony stereo has been fitted, connected to a CD changer in the boot. Nothing unusual about that, but this unit also plays MiniDiscs - we’ve not seen one of those before. It’s also got its own add-on steering column control stalk, but although wired in, it’s only loosely attached to the side of the centre console. Another slightly unusual and disconcerting feature of it is that it says “Hello” when you start the car!

As far as we’ve been able to test, the electrics and interior equipment work as they should. The sunroof opens and closes swiftly, as do most of the windows, but the nearside rear is clearly receiving power (you hear a relay click) but the motor doesn’t move the glass.

The engine bay is tidy but would benefit from a bit of a clean up, and more could be made of the look of the 4.0-litre engine with a bit of paint and polish. Everything looks intact though, including the bonnet’s acoustic lining. There’s a little bit of surface rust here and there but nothing seems out of place.

Underneath, the subframe looks quite rusty but nothing serious enough to attract an advisory, and one of the exhaust clips appears to be broken. The underseal elsewhere is starting to crack and possibly the suspension might be worth updating. As picked out on the MOT there is a slight oil leak from somewhere but not of significance to warrant a failure.

Inside the boot, the beige carpeting appears relatively clean and intact and there is a full size spare wheel that stands upright at the back. To one side, the CD changer unit for the stereo is fitted. The underside of the boot lid lip, above the number plate, has rusted quite badly, presumably through water ingress, possibly around the spoiler.

The car has a current MOT, valid until March 2022 with advisories on worn suspension bushing and a couple of other minor notes, plus an online history of near annual testing back to 2007.

The car comes with its original owner’s book pack including the service manual which has 20+ stamps in it from PDI all the way through to May 2001 with a mileage of 113,918 and then a recent stamp at 140,740 miles. The vast majority of those services were carried out by Jaguar main dealers or independent specialists.

The history file includes lots of MOT reports and numerous invoices dating back to 1999.

The engine starts well, with a powerful torque effect when revved, perhaps a little lumpy at first, and pulls strongly. There is a faint noise like water running through a small pipe audible from in front of the drive - possibly the AC. Otherwise it drives as you would expect.

This was a well-respected incarnation of the XJR, and a less complicated one than its successor. And with most of the 100 or so examples still surviving being on SORNs, ones like this are a rare sight on our roads.

Whatever you consider these models to be worth, they’re going to be cheaper than their German rivals - though probably just as enjoyable - and we expect this relative high-miler in need of cosmetic attention to sell for between £5,000 and £10,000.

That’s not a big chunk for such a large hunk of car and, to sweeten things further, it’s selling at NO RESERVE - so even a cheeky low bid might turn out to be the winner.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; 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’.