A #Jaguar for #Caturday. Over the last two weeks I’ve described how Jaguar, a marque to an extent defined by its use of inline sixes, dealt with the question of whether to adopt ‘V’ engines. In 1994, the company introduced X300, a heavily restyled XJ40. Under the bonnet, the AJ16 inline six, a development of the AJ6. This 1997 X300, seen at the British Motor Museum in 2023, was the last car off the line fitted with a Jag straight six. Change was afoot. (1/2)
Yesterday I explained how Jaguar resisted fitting its cars with the lightweight aluminium alloy V8 engine from its British Leyland stablemate Rover. But there was another car in the Leyland empire that would probably have benefited from getting the Rover 3.5-litre V8. The stylish Triumph Stag used Triumph’s own 3-litre V8, which developed a reputation for unreliability but Leyland never made the swap. Car snapped at the British Motor Museum in 2023.
In 1986, an all-new Jaguar saloon (XJ40) with an all-new Jaguar straight six engine (AJ6) was launched. In this sequence of posts, I’ve referred several times to the precedents for fitting V engines to Jaguars, cars traditionally associated with inline sixes. Industry legend has it that Jaguar deliberately made the engine bay too narrow for the Rover V8 in order to justify the development of its own AJ6 straight six when funds at BL were scarce. (1/3)
Yesterday I explained how the modernity of the Rover SD1 highlighted the age of the Jaguar XJ’s design. An all-new Jag, the XJ40 (more tomorrow), was already in development in the seventies but in the meantime, in 1979, a heavily updated Series 3 version of the existing XJ was introduced featuring new lights and bumpers as well as a raised roof-line and increased glass area. Snapped at the 2023 NEC Classic Motor Show.
By 1976, the Jaguar XJ had been on the market for eight years when it was joined in the British Leyland line-up by the Rover SD1. The two cars weren’t quite direct competitors - the Jaguar was a more sophisticated machine - but the sleek and modern SD1 was a reminder that the Jag was getting on a bit and also of the merits of the lightweight Rover V8 engine and its centrality to Leyland’s plans. Pics taken at the 2025 Practical Classics resto show.
By 1973, the Jaguar XJ was five years old. It was still a very good product but Jaguar gave it a bit of an update in the form of the Series 2 model with a shallower grille and a higher-mounted front bumper. There were no major engine changes - the XK straight six was still going strong and the magnificent 5.3-litre V12 was almost brand new. I saw this Series 2 at the British Motor Museum last year.
In 1968, with the formation of British Leyland, for the second time in a decade, a merger brought a lightweight aluminium alloy V8 engine under the same corporate roof as Jaguar - in the form of the Rover (originally Buick) V8. As we have seen, the first time this happened, Jaguar found a place for Daimler’s V8 in the Mk2 saloon. But its attitude to the Rover V8 was very different. Rover P6 3500 V8 seen at the 2025 Practical Classics resto show
For #Caturday, a (rebadged) Jaguar. By the time the XJ6 arrived, every post-war Jaguar with the exception of the badge-engineered Daimler V8 had been fitted with the XK straight six, which became a defining Jag feature. But V engines appeared in the XJ in 1972 with the 5.3-litre V12 XJ12. On a telling note, the Daimler version seen here at The Great British Car Journey in 2023 was badged ‘double six’, emphasising that straight six XK heritage.
In 1968 Jaguar replaced all four of its saloon models, including the recently featured Mk2, with the XJ6. All XJ6s used the Jaguar XK straight six engine in new 2.8 and 4.2-litre sizes. That included the Daimler badged version, the Daimler Sovereign. But while the Daimler V8 was now off the menu, as we shall see tomorrow, ‘V’ engines would soon become part of the story again. I snapped this beautiful XJ6 at the British Motor Museum in 2023.
A few days ago, I mentioned that the SP250 roadster was the last independently designed Daimler before the company was taken over by Jaguar. But in 1962, its 2.5-litre V8 engine was combined with the Jag Mk2 body to produce the Daimler 2.5 V8 saloon. Note the Daimler badging and special fluted grille. The lighter Daimler engine was said to improve the Mk2’s handling. Pics taken - British Motor Museum, 2023. (1/2)
David Wilkins