XJ40 BUYING GUIDE
PRODUCED BETWEEN 1986 and 1994, the steel-bodied XJ40 was the long-awaited replacement in the XJ’s evolution. Development started in 1972, although the final shape wasn’t signed off for production until 1980, which itself didn’t begin until 1986 when it was launched at the NEC Motor Show.
Despite the delay, the XJ40 was modern for the time with, rectangular-shaped headlights equipped with washers (the entry-level model still had the older, round quad headlights reminiscent of the Series 3), anti-lock brakes and self-levelling rear suspension. Its predecessor’s ageing XK engine was replaced with the all-aluminium AJ6 (Advanced Jaguar Six) with various displacements, and single or double overhead valve configurations.
In 1986, when the average UK salary was approaching £18k, a new XJ40 started at a little below £17k and went up to £28,495. Production figures remained steady at 30k-plus for the remainder of the Eighties, but quickly plummeted in the Nineties when rivals such as Lexus, with its V8-powered LS, made the XJ40 appear old-fashioned.
Even though a V12 model appeared in 1993 and the XJ40 was nominated the safest car in Britain by a government-backed survey, the model’s days were numbered; it was replaced the following year by the X300.
Total production exceeded 200k, and, with a large number of these models nearly always for sale through the classifieds over the following couple of decades, they slowly slipped into bargain banger territory. These days, there are not so many to be found, and prices seem to be holding.At the time of writing, we found a 3.2-litre 1992 Sovereign for sale without an MOT at £2,000, and a road-legal 1990 4.0-litrewith 65k on the clock for £3,795 – not a lot of money by classic Jaguar standards. If you’re willing to spend a little more, the choice is even better.
Typical of many cars produced over several years, the later models are usually more reliable, with problems often found and fixed during production.
Model differences
The XJ6 is the base model XJ40, equipped with two pairs of circular headlamps rather than
