Coventry, England, has brought the world some of the finest luxury motorcars since Jaguar Cars (now Jaguar Land Rover) was founded in 1933. But you may be interested to know that Jaguar’s roots actually started with motorcycles – and specifically, with the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922.
The Pick of the Day is a low-mileage 1990 Jaguar XJ-S roadster listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a private seller in Burbank, Washington. (Click the link to view the listing)
“This Jag is in fine condition!” the seller says. “Everything works as it should, except the cruise control.”
The XJ-S (later spelled more concisely as XJS) was launched as a luxury grand-tourer in 1975 and lived on until 1996. Within that two-decade-plus model year range, there were three distinct generations. Today’s featured car comes from what became known as the “HE” (or High Efficiency) era from 1981 through 1991. The name was coined because the car was offered with what Jaguar called a high-efficiency 5.3-liter V12 motor (and two years later, a 3.6-liter “AJ6” inline-six was added to the mix).
The XJ-S was marketed as, “A place in the sun that moves like the wind.” An ad for the 1990 XJ-S says, “Nimble and powerful, yet eminently civilized, the 1990 Jaguar XJ-S convertible adds the sun, the moon, and the wind in your hair.” Indeed, the car was geared toward the elite of society: The price tag was $82,550 which comes out to a staggering sum of nearly $200,000 in today’s currency. To say that Jag had come a long way from producing motorcycles would be the understatement of the century.
The Signal Red exterior of today’s featured car is both eye-catching and well-preserved. At nearly 35 years old, the finishes appear clean and rich. Even the black leather interior is tidy, and there is plenty of glossy woodgrain trim to provide a sense of class to the cabin. According to the photos in the listing, the sale will include a cassette tape entitled “The Total Driving Experience.”
The 5.3-liter V12 was rated at 262 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque. “Drives great, no leaks,” the seller says. Maintenance records show that the air conditioning compressor and the convertible top cylinder were serviced in 2022, and included with the listing is a brief walk-around video.
The asking price is $16,000 or best offer. If you buy this fine piece of machinery, please comment and tell us what’s on that “Total Driving Experience” tape. I’m eager to know what kind of high-class tunes Jaguar put together!
To view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com, venture on over to the listing.
Comments are closed