・20,261 miles from new

・S3 XJ12 with tiny genuine mileage

・Garaged stored off-road since 2004

・Amazing history, documented in hand-written letter

・Recently recommissioned with outer respray

With the new XJ40 delayed by budgetary constraints, Jaguar turned to the Italians for help in keeping the XJ saloon series going for a few more years in 1979.

The Series 3 XJ was created with the help of Pininfarina, which gave the car an inexpensive restyle, keeping Jaguar’s engineering costs in mind. A slightly lower roofline, new light clusters front and rear and – most importantly – US-market compliant safety impact bumpers that didn’t look completely hideous were the main elements of the brief, and it’s fair to say that Pininfarina did a grand job. 

The outcome was a really pretty car, especially given how tight Jaguar’s budget was, and it kept the XJ selling well until 1986 when the new XJ40 appeared, though the V12 models carried on even longer - until 1992. 

This is one of the first V12 examples, registered in June 1980 and finished in Chestnut Bronze metallic, which really suits it. On its own, it would be an interesting car, not least because of the 5.3-litre V12 engine, but the history and story behind it and its incredibly low genuine mileage – just over 20,000 – give it even more appeal. 

The car has just been returned to road after a lay-up of over 16 years, where it has been kept in a garage in London. It has had some light cosmetic restoration, but is largely original.

While the very early part of this car’s history is unknown, it was owned by the same owner for over 30 years before coming out of hibernation earlier this year.

A hand-written letter from the owner documents its backstory. The chap in question was the captain of a yacht called Bluebird – a 1930s luxury model originally owned by Sir Malcolm Campbell, and which has a fabulous history of its own having been one of the ‘little boats’ used in the Dunkirk landings of 1940. 

The yacht was the property of world-famous art dealer Martin Summers, who is known for selling works by Cezanne, Monet, Dali and Picasso among others. He bought Bluebird partly because he was a keen sailor, but also for the boat’s Campbell/WW2 history, and appointed a full-time skipper to look after it for him. 

Summers bought the Jaguar from a Sotheby’s auction at the Duxford Air Museum in 1990 with just 1,760 miles on the clock and presented the car to Scott Beadle, the skipper of Bluebird, as a birthday present.

With Beadle spending most of his time at sea (Summers was a keen sailor and Beadle looked after and maintained the boat as well as piloting it) the Jaguar was only used sparingly when he was back in the UK, primarily for visiting family. 

He took the mileage up to just over 19,000 in total when the car was taken off the road with a minor mechanical problem, and with a young family and a busy life, he never got around to getting it fixed. 

Earlier this year, the XJ12 was discovered by an enthusiast in Kent who decided it was time to get it back on the road, which he has done. A serial car buyer, he has once again run out of space and is looking to find this fascinating and historic XJ12 a new home. 

As well as the aforementioned handwritten letter from Scott Beadle, there’s a fair bit of documentation with the Jaguar. Its most recent MOT before the current one shows the mileage at 19,854 (in 2004) and the latest test (March 2021) shows the milage as 20,261 – that’s a smidgen over 300 miles in 17 years. 

There’s also an original book pack, a spare set of keys, a book written by Beadle and Summers about Bluebird (the yacht) and several old bills and receipts from the past. 

It has also just been serviced and mechanically checked over by a well-respected Jaguar specialist in South East London.

Chestnut Bronze is one of the best colours for an XJ Series 3, capturing the lines perfectly. It’s also hugely evocative of this car’s era. 

Not wanting to take much away from the car’s originality, the vendor has had the outer bodywork resprayed as the metallic paint had deteriorated in storage, but has otherwise not touched the body which is remarkably solid throughout – there’s some surface rust on the floor pans and also at the top of one B-pillar inside the door shut, but it’s remarkably straight all over.

There’s also some deterioration to the chrome on the rear bumper blade, which is pitted, and the front bumper corner trim on the nearside needs realigning. 

These are all minor issues, though, and the car looks great overall with straight panels, good sills and lovely lattice alloys. 

The interior is pretty good, with the tan leather seats still looking fabulous 41 years since the car left the factory. It also has all its original carpets, along with tailored overmats.

Some of the wood trim is showing its age, notably the veneer on the glovebox lid, but the look isn’t unattractive – it gives the car a lovely patina that sits well with its classical lines and bronze and beige colour scheme. 

All of the dials and gauges work, as does the original radio and air con.

With just over 20,000 miles on the clock, the 5.3-litre V12 has plenty of life left in it and it has also just been given an oil service and full check over by a London-based Jaguar specialist. 

The car sounds wonderful in the way that only a wuffly Jaguar V12 can – near silent on idle, and like a jet taking off as it builds up revs. 

It holds good oil pressure, while it felt pretty well sorted on a short test drive, with typically finger-light steering, lively acceleration and decent brakes. It has recently passed an MOT having been recommissioned, with brake linings and rubber components replaced where needed. 

There are two primary reasons to love this car. The first is that there probably isn’t another XJ12 out there with quite the same low mileage and it’s a great, solid and lovely looking example that’s bound to be a talking point in itself. 

The second is that fascinating backstory, the connection to a well-known art dealer and a Dunkirk Little Boat, and the handwritten letter that tells the story of how the yacht’s skipper was given the car as a gift by his employer and good friend. That’s the kind of thing you can’t just buy and it makes this car very special indeed. 

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