You may have noticed a theme with the first few High Mile Clubs: they typically feature German cars from quite a specific era, from RS2 to 993 to SEL. With good reason, too, because for a fair chunk of the 20th century nothing quite compared to German automotive engineering. The cars were great out of the box, then have just sort of carried on being great for decades and decades afterwards. Hence a 315hp Audi 80 Avant now commanding £50k...
But before being accused of predictability, High Mile Club is taking a turn. A turn for what exactly is up to you to decide, but there is more to this Jaguar XJS than meets the eye. Because you're thinking this is a joke, aren't you? The only thing less reliable than an XJS is the person who tells you otherwise. But don't be so sure...
The first point to note is that all XJSes are old cars now; even the very last pre-XK examples are 25 years old, and the oldest more than 40. Which is not normally evidence for encouraging further use of a car, but consider it this way: by now, the real basket cases, the ones that for whatever reason were just beyond saving, are long gone by now. With values having crept up over the past few years, the effort that goes into preserving a good XJS should be rewarded - and that wasn't the case when they were at Shed money. Why bother fixing all the problems when the remedy cost more than the car?
In addition, this particular XJS is notable for having been modified in a fashion that would encourage the next owner to get out and drive it as much as possible. Once a V12 auto, this Le Mans edition was converted by an ex-Lister mechanic to the five-speed manual by its previous owner. The current custodian has also swapped in a shorter final drive during their time with it, a 3.54 from the six-cylinder XJS now in, which they say, "retains all the XJS GT credentials, but offers a lot more performance than standard models, when required."
There's more, too. The engine has been tweaked - bigger throttles, tweaked ECU, new manifolds - by AJ6 Engineering, the brakes now use braided hoses and the suspension has been upgraded with Gaz Gold adjustable dampers and Eibach springs. It's not suddenly a Tom Walkinshaw replica, this XJS - but it does promise a good deal more vim than a regular V12.
That's in addition to a wealth of detail in the advert that points to it being a cherished car. It had a bare metal respray (including new sills and rear wings) in 2014, with more recent work also resolving some rust that had emerged and giving the underside a Waxoyl treatment. Apparently the paintwork is now merely "good" but "not perfect", which is saying something; most XJSes surely never looked this well. Note as well the new headlining, refreshed air conditioning and receipts for tens of thousands over the past few years, suggesting diligent ownership.
Despite the GT billing (and age), there are just three Jaguar XJSes for sale on PH with more than 100,000 miles - including this car. To an optimist that might suggest that owners simply love their well used Jags and couldn't possibly part; a cynic might suggest an XJS remains a prospect too risky to taken on, even after all this time.
It's tempting, though, right? V12 growling, shifting gears manually, an XJS (hopefully) driving like an XJS always should have and most certainly looking its best. All for £20k, which is anything up to £80,000 less than some XJSes are offered for. And, in the grand scheme of great British GTs, not all that much - an E-Type V12 will still cost you at least twice as much. If an XJS is going to go wrong despite care, there's not a great deal that can be done about that. Let's not forget, either, that any car from 1991 now presents a fair risk, apart from perhaps those pesky Germans. So put it this way, then: should you fancy an XJS to use, enjoy and love, it's hard to think of a better place to start than right here. Here's to the next 30 years and 125,000 miles - we might have seen another Jaguar Le Mans victory by then...
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