Jaguar XJR: Spotted

Original six-cylinder XJRs are very hard to come by, even more so in this condition

There's just something about a fast Jaguar saloon. The combination of massive speed with a very English sense of luxury makes them a performance car unlike any other. They've never been without rivals, of course, usually from the various German manufacturers. But there's always something that bit different to distinguish them, whether that be in style, dynamics or engineering.

We are of course at the end of an era for performance Jaguars too; from now on, as the F-Type SVR has reminded us, all flagship models will be all-wheel drive. Not a bad thing by any means - the Jaguar Intelligent Driveline Dynamics system is very good - but it is different. And we rather worry about different, don't we?

Anyway, to the car in question. It's one of the first Jaguar XJRs, a product of TWR and Jaguar's collaboration in the late 80s to create cars that appealed to a younger client base. It's not just a recent phenomenon! Under the 'Jaguar Sport' name, the XJR and XJS-based XJR-S were created and TWR began laying the foundations for the XJ220 and XJR-15. There was a bit of success in sportscar racing too...

The XJ40 XJR was based on the XJ6, with TWR's modifications including new Bilstein dampers, changes to the steering and some subtle styling tweaks too. Originally a 3.6, the later cars like this one came with a 4.0-litre straight six and the square headlights rather than the original round items. From what can be found on the internet, a 4.0-litre manual XJ6 was once capable of 145mph and 0-60mph in 7.2 seconds.

According to the ad for this 4.0-litre auto, there are just 37 XJ40 XJRs left on the road today. It sounds believable; when did you last see one? This one must be one of the best too, having covered just 39,000 miles and with rear cream leather seats that look to have been barely touched. It's had one owner for the past quarter of a century who always had it serviced at the same Jaguar dealer. There's an RAC badge in the grille. The wood gleams and there's even a car phone. If you like fast old Jags - and we rather do - then this XJR looks ruddy magnificent.

At £14K there are other sports saloons both of the XJR's time and newer to consider. You could have a previous-gen X350 V8 XJR for example. Interestingly E34 M5s are out of price range but there is a Mercedes 500E at £12,990, albeit in left-hand drive with a lot more miles. Are there any other realistic alternatives? We'd love to hear them, especially as it might stave off the irrepressible urge to buy this right now. What a car!

Jaguar XJR
Engine: 3,980cc, inline-6
Transmission: 4-speed ZF automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 254@5,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 278@4,000rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1990
Recorded mileage: 39,000 miles
Price new: £39,950
Yours for: £13,995