Jaguar - Jaguar XJ12
The Jaguar XJ6 really set the tone for Jaguar saloons for decades to come and was the last creation of William Lyons before he retired at the age of 70 in 1972., the same year the longer wheelbase new 5.3 litre 12 cylinder XJ12 became available, the fastest 4 seater on the planet! The Daimler version or the Jaguar XJ12 was branded the Daimler Double-Six, a name harking back to the high quality Daimler Double Six of the early 1930's.
The "Series 2" XJ6 was first shown in 1973 and looked virtually identical as what went before it, other than for a lowered front grille, and quite a different dashboard. The 12 cylinder Jaguar XJ Series 2 was still called the XJ12, as well as the XJ5.3, and offered in 2 wheelbase lengths. But within a year the shorter length was deleted and only the longer wheelbase with more rear passenger leg room was offered. Over the years, continual improvements and upgrades were made, the most significant being in 1977 when the British made Borg Warner gearbox was dropped in favour of the American General Motors gearbox, which happened due to quality control problems at Borg Warner. The Jaguar XJ12 Series 2 range ran to 1979. During the production of the XJ Series 2, a batch of cars was also produced called the XJ Coupe, a two door version, now based on the short wheel base (9 ft 1 inch) XJ, and again was available as both Jaguar and Daimler models, the Daimler V12 5.3 being marketed as the Daimler Sovereign Coupe, or Daimler Double Six Coupe.
The Series 3 range of the XJ was started in 1979, staying in production to 1992 with the XJ12 version. Bodywork tweaks were at the hand of Pininfarina, but keeping to the original William Lyons format. For the XJ12 this was kept at 5.3 litres, with the engines now fuel injected. An interesting side note was Swiss Michael May (the first person to put a spoiler on his car - a Porsche 550, that the organisers would not allow) altered the V12 cylinder head combustion chamber, and cars with this design of head fitted were called the HE (High Efficiency). Although the 6 cylinder version of the XJ ceased in 1987 to be replaced with the XJ40, the Series 3 XJ12 's carried on in production until 1992.
Tyre size for the Jaguar XJ12 was initially 205/70VR15 as standard, but by 1973 the Jaguar XJ12 was fitted with the larger 215/70VR15 tyre as standard, from the Jaguar factory. Blockley produces both these high speed rated tyre sizes which we guarantee will transform the handling of the XJ12, our realistic prices only being possible because we sell these direct - see full details of both these Jaguar XJ12 tyre sizes below:
