Description
5. 3-Litre V12 | Signal Red over Charcoal Leather | 26, 954 Miles | Lynx Performer Styling | Period Car Telephone
There was a time when a twelve-cylinder Jaguar convertible was a perfectly sensible way to announce that life was treating you rather well. Preferably in red, with a telephone on board, and perhaps a little something extra to distinguish it from the one parked outside the golf club.
This is exactly that car.
Delivered new in December 1989 by Paladin Jaguar of Reigate, this XJS V12 Convertible is finished in the wonderfully period combination of Signal Red over Charcoal leather, with the added visual theatre of Lynx Performer body styling. It has covered a recorded 26, 954 miles and, more recently, has belonged to and been maintained by a member of one of Britain's foremost historic race preparation workshops.
Its history file includes the original supplying dealer invoice, correspondence with its first owner, early MOT certificates and the original Jaguar document wallet. Even the car telephone remains in place, a delightful reminder of an age when being contactable on the move was something of an achievement, rather than an inconvenience.
It is, in short, a rather splendid survivor of a very particular moment in British motoring history.
The Jaguar XJS V12 Convertible
When Jaguar unveiled the XJS in 1975, it faced the unenviable task of succeeding the E-Type, a car whose reputation had already become larger than life.
Wisely, Jaguar chose not to attempt a repeat performance. Instead, the XJS was conceived as something rather different: a sophisticated, continent-crossing grand tourer for those who preferred their speed accompanied by silence, leather and a certain degree of discretion.
Its styling, with that long, low bonnet and distinctive rear buttresses, divided opinion at first. But time has been kind to the XJS. What once appeared unconventional now looks unmistakably of its era, and all the more appealing for it.
Beneath that considerable bonnet lay Jaguar's magnificent 5. 3-litre V12, an engine of exceptional smoothness and refinement. Twelve cylinders were hardly a necessity for everyday motoring, but then neither was a Jaguar XJS. That was rather the point.
The fully open Convertible arrived in 1988, finally dispensing with the fixed roof structure of the earlier XJ-SC and allowing the car's elegant proportions to be enjoyed as its designers intended. It was an altogether more glamorous proposition, equally at home on the Côte d'Azur or outside a country house in Sussex.
By the late 1980s, the XJS Convertible had established itself as one of Britain's most desirable grand tourers. Expensive, effortlessly capable and unashamedly luxurious, it belonged to an era when a large-capacity engine and a generous helping of leather were considered entirely reasonable expressions of good taste.
The Lynx Performer
This is what happens when you give a Big Cat a big booty.
For those who found the standard Jaguar a little too restrained, there was Lynx.
Established in 1968, Lynx Engineering earned an enviable reputation for its work with Jaguars, particularly its beautifully executed D-Type recreations and the extraordinary XJS-based Eventer shooting brake.
The company belonged to a distinctly British tradition of specialist coachbuilding, where an already accomplished motor car could be made just that little bit more individual.
The Lynx Performer styling brought a more assertive character to the XJS, with additional bodywork lending the long, elegant Jaguar a sporting edge. In Signal Red, the effect is anything but anonymous.
The result is a car which retains all the essential ingredients of the XJS — the long bonnet, the V12, the effortless grand touring ability — but presents them with rather more confidence. It is a wonderfully period interpretation of a car that was already something of a statement.
This Particular Example
On 8 December 1989, a gentleman by the name of Mr M. J. Rees took delivery of his new Jaguar XJS V12 Convertible from Paladin Jaguar, the official Jaguar and Daimler agents in Bell Street, Reigate, Surrey.
Finished in Signal Red with Charcoal upholstery, the car carried an original invoice price of £41, 760. A considerable sum at the time, and ample evidence that the XJS Convertible occupied the upper reaches of the British luxury car market.
Remarkably, the original invoice survives, together with a letter from Paladin's Sales Manager, Victor C. Mayes, thanking Mr Rees for his custom and setting out the arrangements for the car's future servicing.
These are the small details which bring a car's history to life. An original invoice, a dealer's signature, a letter written nearly four decades ago; each provides a tangible connection to the day the Jaguar first left the showroom.
Originally registered G242 DPA, the car is accompanied by its dark green Jaguar leather document wallet, complete with the original handbooks, warranty literature and radio cassette instructions.
And then there is the telephone. Mounted within the cabin, this wonderfully anachronistic piece of equipment is perhaps the most evocative accessory of all. In 1989, a car telephone was not merely a convenience; it was a declaration that its owner was sufficiently important to be reached wherever he happened to be. One can almost imagine it ringing somewhere on the M25, interrupting a conversation about share prices or a particularly promising property investment. Today, it is a charming piece of period theatre, and arguably far more entertaining than anything a modern touchscreen could offer.
The car's Lynx Performer styling provides the finishing touch, transforming an already handsome Jaguar into something altogether more distinctive.
History and Provenance
The recorded mileage stands at just 26, 954 miles, with surviving MOT certificates providing useful reference points in the car's earlier life.
In September 1994, the odometer recorded 10, 567 miles. A later certificate records 23, 249 miles, helping to establish a picture of relatively modest use over the intervening years. More recently, the Jaguar has belonged to a member of one of Britain's most respected historic race preparation workshops, where it has also been maintained. It is an appealing association. Those accustomed to preparing and maintaining historic competition machinery are generally well acquainted with the particular demands of older motor cars, and the Jaguar's recent custodianship forms an interesting addition to its history.
Cosmetically, the car presents attractively in its vivid Signal Red, although there is some light patina to the paintwork, entirely in keeping with its age.
This is not a car pretending to have emerged yesterday from a restoration workshop. It has lived a life, albeit a relatively gentle one by the evidence of its odometer, and retains the character which makes an original older motor car so appealing.
The combination of early paperwork, period accessories, distinctive coachwork and recent specialist ownership gives this XJS a personality beyond that of an ordinary production example.
A Car for the Concours Lawn
There is, of course, another rather appealing prospect for this particular Jaguar.
As the once-overlooked world of 1980s tuner cars enjoys a well-deserved renaissance, the more flamboyant creations of the period are finding an increasingly enthusiastic audience. From wide-bodied Porsches and extravagant Mercedes-Benz conversions to the wonderfully individual interpretations of Britain's specialist coachbuilders, these cars represent an era when excess was not merely tolerated, but positively encouraged. And this red Jaguar fits rather splendidly into that company.
With its Lynx Performer styling, magnificent V12 and wonderfully period car telephone, it has all the ingredients of a compelling entrant in an 1980s tuner or modified classics class at an event such as the London Concours, or indeed any of the growing number of gatherings celebrating the more eccentric side of 1980s motoring.
Its rarity of specification and distinctive appearance make it a natural conversation piece, while the surviving original documentation and modest recorded mileage add substance to the spectacle.
It may not possess the polished perfection of a freshly restored concours entrant, but perhaps that is rather missing the point. This is a car with personality, provenance and just the right amount of period flamboyance.
One can readily imagine it parked amongst the Koenig Specials, AMGs and other wonderfully outrageous creations of the decade, attracting rather more attention than its original designers might ever have anticipated. After all, there are plenty of handsome classic Jaguars. There are rather fewer with quite this much attitude.
A Certain Kind of Jaguar
The great charm of the XJS is that it belongs to a world which no longer quite exists. A world of long journeys undertaken without particular urgency, of twelve-cylinder engines barely audible at cruising speed, of deep leather seats, walnut veneers and the reassuringly substantial click of a Jaguar door closing. This particular example captures that world rather beautifully.
The Signal Red paintwork is suitably extroverted, the Lynx styling adds a touch of sporting bravado, and the car telephone provides just enough period extravagance to raise a smile.
With only 26, 954 miles recorded, an appealing collection of original documentation and a recent connection to the historic motorsport world, it is an intriguing and characterful example of Jaguar's celebrated grand tourer.
Not entirely discreet, perhaps. But then, anyone seeking complete anonymity would hardly have ordered a red V12 convertible with a telephone in the first place.
