£8000-£12,000
XJS
Rather than looking back towards the E-Type era, the XJ-S brief was to create a modern-looking car in the Italian style, low and wide and using the platform of the original XJ saloon shortened by six inches with the front suspension moved forwards to keep the proportions neat. Launched in 1975, the XJ-S was offered initially with just the Lucas-injected V12 engine, in either manual or automatic form.
Although some onlookers were surprised at the modern new style, one thing nobody questioned was the car’s performance. The V12 in launch spec was good for 150mph, making it faster than the last of the E-Types.
The oil crises of the era hit the V12 hard, which is why the May ‘fireball’ head was fitted from 1980 to create the ‘HE’ (for High Efficiency) model, offering a
