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Bloomberg

In the 1960s and 1970s, few sedans oozed ultra-cool style as the Jaguar XJ does. Long and slender, with liquid lines yawning from the limpid headlamps back to an elegantly tapered tail, they seemed to slither down the road like something from a naughty dream.
Jerry Hall, Tom Petty, and Frank Sinatra owned them. So did the UK’s royal family.

But owning one now can also be a nightmare.
Complications from rust damage, overheating issues, and cracked cables can result in hours stranded on the side of the road instead of tooling to a picnic or swishing through London streets to a night-time haunt. And if you try to go more modern by buying an XJ from the later generations of the 1980s and 1990s, you’ll find that they lag, underpowered, behind comparable vehicles from BMW and Mercedes.
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But since it broke away from former owner Ford Motor Company in 2008, Jaguar has been back in a major way. The brand, now owned by Tata Motors Limited, has just produced an excellent all-electric SUV, the I-Pace, and leads the field for value with the affordable, powerful, stylish, and fun-to-drive F-Type coupe and convertibles.
So it was from a position of confidence that the brand took a moment to reflect on its heritage – lovely and occasionally soft as it was – with the arrival of the latest iteration of the XJ.

This autumn, it launched the US$75,400 2019 Jaguar XJ sedan on the 50th anniversary of the car’s 1968 debut at the Paris Motor Show. Then it added context: Jag sprang all eight generations of the XJ line out of storage and put them on the road, driving overnight from company headquarters in Coventry, England, to the Paris Motor Show.
This was especially daring because vintage Jaguar collectors and enthusiasts well know the ecstasy of loving such a stylish auto – in its day, the very top car for elegance and performance – and the agony of owning it 50 years later.

The potential for disappointment was high on the back roads as we drove from the Castle Bromwich Assembly Plant outside London through the Goodwood Motor Circuit, Saint-Malo Port, and Le Mans racetrack on the way to Paris. But Jaguar boldly set us off on that two-day quest, a group of writers and travellers, come what may. I respected the company’s confidence. (A complete squat team of eager British mechanics followed in an SUV should anything happen. It would have been worth popping a flat just to see them in action – almost.)
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Our convoy included everything from a retro-cool 1978 XJ Coupe V12 and a long, four-door 1973 Daimler Double-Six Vanden Plas Limousine (Jaguar bought Daimler in 1960 and continued the line as an upscale trim level for Jaguar) to a 1988 Daimler 3.6 and the new US$122,400 Jaguar XJR575 sedan, which is as aggressive as any jungle cat you’d find in the wild, with the mean engine scream to boot. I loved it.

My favourite ride of the vintage group was the Series I. When it made its debut at the Paris Motor Show in 1968, it was the last creation gift of Jaguar founder William Lyons. It had a 180-horsepower engine, a well-balanced body with four-wheel independent suspension, a then-ultra-modern automatic transmission, and luxurious details inside such as polished burled walnut doors and golden-filigree enamel-filled logos, enough to give anyone driving one a sense of occasion, even if the trip was merely down the road to fetch milk. They were so good the brand sold more than 250,000 of them in their 18-year generation.
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The one we drove had a thin, wide, black plastic steering wheel that feels as elegant as a Capri cigarette in a lady’s hand. The seats, stitched as tight and soft as an old boxer’s leather punching bag, bounced happily as the car glided over speed bumps and cobbles. For me, a five-foot, 10-inch lanky type, the footwells were heaven – I could fully straighten my legs and still not feel the end of the car.

Driving down back roads in Bordeaux felt like living inside a Godard film – smooth and smart and cool as Serge Gainsborough himself. (Give yourself a few miles to readjust your expectations on the steering – vague – and the brakes – delayed – from modern calibrations to more classically inclined response times.)

These days, it’s just the type of inexpensive vintage car that was top of the line when it debuted and has aged into something worth the potential high cost of ownership. The Hagerty Price Guide lauds “the visceral charms of the motor”, which shine through in the sedan. Early Series I cars, it notes, are the best of the group to collect, since they have purer looks and a more classic interior.
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“I think the reputation for being unreliable is a bit unfair,” says Jonathan Klinger, the spokesman for Hagerty. “Yes, they do have some quirks, but nothing that cannot be overcome. The reality is many of these cars were allowed to go into disrepair and deferred maintenance.”

In fact, he says, the early XJ Series I cars did indeed combine incredible refinement, luxury, and performance.
The only catch is finding a good one.
Keep in mind that this is a car to love, not a business opportunity. Given that even top examples sell for less than US$50,000 (Bring a Trailer’s record-setter cost only US$21,000, and most sell for less than US$10,000), recouping the cost of a full restoration is often impossible. (The average value of a 1969 XJ in good condition, for example, has hovered near US$13,000 for years, according to Hagerty.) Buy one with low mileage and immaculate underpinnings (read: no rust). Even better if it has been owned by only one person over its lifetime, which means less chance that maintenance has been deferred.

In the end, Jag needn’t have worried about roadside mishaps: every car in the starting group finished the drive with nary a flub. The only real issue was finding decent rest stops along the way. If there’s one thing the English believe, it’s that you can never have too much Earl Grey.
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Between this and Jaguar’s confidence in the nobility and value of British automotive heritage, it’s no wonder the brand set up the launch of its flagship model between its Coventry, England, headquarters and the location of XJ’s debut decades ago. The confidence to embrace both the old you and the new you can make anything sexy – even a large sedan.
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Why the Jaguar XJ – loved by Jerry Hall and Frank Sinatra – is the coolest of the big cat cars

Only 10,000 XJ Coupes were manufactured by Jaguar, making it one of the most desirable XJs in the world. Photo: Bloomberg

The wheel design on this XJ is known colloquially as the “pepper pot.” Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg

For those interested in buying a classic XJ, Hagerty suggests going for one of the six-cylinder engine examples, rather than those with a V12 engine, which tend to overheat and are more expensive and complicated to repair. Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg

Jaguar launched the first XJ sedan in Paris in 1968. It was the last car designed by Jaguar co-founder William Lyons. Source: Jaguar

The XJ Series III retained such familiar trademark elements as twin headlamps, a low roofline, and a long profile. It also had more headroom and rear space than previous generations. Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain liked it so much he has commissioned Jaguar to produce multiple customized XJ Series IIIs for his private collection. Source: Jaguar

The 2019 Jaguar XJ50 sedan starts at $87,500.Source: Jaguar

The 2018 XJ50 sedan at Les Hauts de Pardaillan in Epernon, France. Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg

When it was launched in 1972, the XJ12, a later version of the XJ Series I, was the world's only mass-produced, 12-cylinder, four-door sedan. At top speed, it could hit 140mph.Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg

We made it! Paris was where the original XJ launched in 1968.Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg

Jaguar bought Daimler Co. in 1960 and continued to sell cars under the Daimler name, which it used to denote its higher-level vehicles. Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg

The XJ50 is available in long and standard wheelbases, with custom bumpers, a black front grille, and 20-inch alloy wheels. Photographer: Hannah Elliott/Bloomberg

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The 1935 Duesenberg SSJ which was sold for US$22 million last month – the most ever paid or an American car at an auction. Photo: Gooding & Company/Mathieu Heurtault

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Why the Jaguar XJ – loved by Jerry Hall and Frank Sinatra – is the coolest of the big cat cars

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}50 years after its debut, the stylish automobile remains an object of desire that is worth the cost of ownership

50 years after its debut, the stylish automobile remains an object of desire that is worth the cost of ownership