We’ve all heard the one about the Jaguar XJ40 and the Rover V8, haven’t we? The story goes that Jaguar’s engineers were so terrified that BL rationalisation would force them to replace the ageing XK with the Rover motor rather than a new six-cylinder unit, they deliberately made the engine bay in the XJ40 unsuitable for anything but an inline six by designing the engine support rails too close together to accommodate a wider V-angle unit of any type.
Of course, that also meant that the V12 version would have to be sacrificed, but this wasn’t seen as such a terrible price to pay. After all, following the fuel crisis of the early 1970s buyers had become much more conscious of fuel economy, and a V12 didn’t fit the political situation. The engine had already been suspended once for almost 12 months – from summer 1980 to spring 1981, when the new HE variant was introduced. Demand was down; the US had stopped ordering XJ12s; BMW and Mercedes both shied away from 12 cylinders; and with greater efficiencies possible from a new six, Jaguar felt that a V12 option would overall be surplus to requirements.
Almost 40 years on, the myth surrounding the circumstances has partially been debunked – it’s said that Jim
