Description
This is an incredibly rare car being 1 of just 350 manual Pre-HE XJS cars ever built, and according to the Jaguar Pre-HE register, one of only about 76 cars Worldwide recorded. The manual Pre HE cars are difficult to find, they are more scarce than a flat floor outside bonnet lock E-Type, and are tipped to be the next big thing in collectable Jaguars, so they wont be at this price level for long! Our car is a 1979 Jaguar XJS V12 Pre-HE Manual, UK RHD Model finished in Silver with Cream Leather Interior and showing 104k Miles from new, she has been subject to a full £75k restoration to 1994 Spec. in the past and is now ready for some recommissioning and reverting back to original spec. after a period in storage.
The development of the E-type's replacement, the XJ-S, had begun in the late 1960s as project XJ27 with an initial design by Malcolm Sayer, but after his death in 1970, it was completed by the in-house Jaguar design team, headed by Doug Thorpe. Power came from the Jaguar V12, initially with a choice of a manual or automatic transmission, but the manual was eventually dropped as the gearboxes were left over from V12 E-Type production and when they ran out of stock it was decided not to manufacture any more. Introduced in Autumn 1975, the XJS replaced the immortal E-Type on the production lines and in the Jaguar catalogue. Powered by the famously silken 5343cc V12 engine, most were produced with automatic transmission, however this example is a rarer, pre-HE, manual example produced in 1977.
Our car is a genuine Factory Manual car, registered VHW 505T, manufactured on the 16th November 1978 in Silver with Dark Blue Leather Interior. The original distributor was Henlys of Bristol. The car was first registered on the 2nd February 1979 and is believed, but not warranted, to have covered just 104, 000 miles from new, being totally restored to the tune of about £40k around 30 years ago by the Main Jaguar Agent in Sevenoaks, with all invoices on file. The car was restored to resemble the XJS of the time, so the Pre-He bits will need replacing, such as the bumpers, she is only showing 6 owners from new, the last owner has had the car for 25 years. In the previous owners words: “My late father, Christopher Bullock MBE, who was Chief Executive of the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) from 1994 to 2007 and welcomed Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell as President from 2006, bought this stunning car in September 1999 from a colleague who himself had bought it at the Brooks Goodwood Festival of Speed auction on 12 June 1998, from James Wheeler of TWR Jaguar,”
“My father only covered approximately 300 miles in the car, mainly for brief leisure trips and getting it to garages for ongoing services and maintenance. Paperwork in the history file indicates that Malcolm Hunt, who commissioned the major restoration, incurred costs of £74k (at the time) between 1988 and 1995, which would be approaching £200k in today’s money. After Malcolm Hunt’s ownership, the car’s time at TWR Jaguar is symbolized by the company’s “TWR” initials, which are etched in the rear windscreen”. Further on into their own ownership of the car, the Bullock family themselves had it re-commissioned and serviced at great expense. “This recommissioning was carried out in February 2013, when MoT advisories were remedied and other works carried out to keep the car in prime condition. The cost was £7. 5k at the time, by JD Classics, after which the car drove very well. Of course, since then, it has been in secure and dry storage under protective cover, so it is now not running”. That means that the XJS will require reawakening once again, although by looking at the car, this should not be a problem.
The real value is in this car being a Pre-HE V12 Manual car, and I am sure the new owner would choose to revert the car back to original specification, meaning new Bumpers, Wheels, Steering Wheel, Badges, etc. then she would be a very fine example indeed! The car comes with a valuable private number "FSK 381" which is transferable. Early production, manual gearbox, pre-HE cars are regarded as the most desirable so this is an excellent opportunity for a light winter project and having a superb car ready for next summer!
