14th Jun, 2023 13:00
Imperial War Museum | Duxford, Cambridgeshire
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Warranted 33,500 miles from new
Effectively a one owner car (the current registered keeper is a family friend who put the car in his name to facilitate a number plate transfer)
Original purchase agreement on file for £45,201 and extensive history file
Ford’s stewardship of Jaguar was characterised by a determination to improve the Coventry marque’s reputation for build quality. To this end it shelved existing plans for a V12-engined version of the XJ40 saloon and instead had the bodyshell re-engineered at a cost of £35 million to better accommodate the 6-litre SOHC unit. Debuting at the February 1993 Amsterdam Motor Show, the resultant XJ81 incorporated 140 new or modified panels and could be had in sporty Jaguar XJ12 or luxurious Daimler Double Six guises. Still uncannily smooth, the famous V12 was allied to an improved GM 4L80E four-speed automatic gearbox. With a quoted 313.5bhp/342lbft on tap, the four-door saloon could whisk occupants from 0-60mph in 6.8 seconds and onto 155mph. Equipped with all-round independent suspension, ABS four-wheel disc brakes and power assisted rack and pinion steering, the XJ81 had a ride / handling balance that some road testers found superior to the contemporary Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7-Series. A costly exercise, a mere 3,799 XJ81s were produced during its nineteen-month production life with just 1,243 of those being home market XJ12s.
Effectively a one owner car, ‘L31 FRO’ has only had a second keeper added to its DVLA record in order to facilitate a cherished number plate transfer. The accompanying original purchase agreement reveals that the XJ12 was supplied new via Dunham Jaguar of Luton on 4th August 1993 at a cost some £45,201.13, while the maintenance booklet records services at 6,228, 12,764, 16,517, 20,086, 24,284, 27,299, 31,388 and 33,053 miles. Converted to conventional steel springs and shock absorbers at the rear by Bob Empson & Sons of Cambridge during May 2012, the sports saloon was taken off the road some eight years later. Scarcely used since passing its most recent MOT test with ‘no advisories’ on 27th March 2023 at a warranted 33,434 miles, the Jaguar remains highly presentable except for some minor bubbling to the offside front wing. An appealing and rare proposition.
