1978 Jaguar XJ6 4.2 Sll saloon

'XJ'. Just two letters, but now synonymous with Jaguar Cars and a series of flagship, full-size, luxury cars built by the long-established manufacturer of sporting automobiles The XJ line, whether XJ6 or XJ12, has had a long history, with the first model released in 1968, at which time, it was considered by many to be one of the finest luxury saloon cars in the world.

Initially, the XJ6 model used the 2.8 litre and 4.2 litre straight-six cylinder versions of Jaguar's renowned XK engine. Motoring journalists of the era praised the car's looks, performance, ride dynamics and affordability, all of which are still impressive even by modern standards. When it was launched, Jaguar introduced the XJ6 as "'the finest Jaguar ever", and coincidentally the original Series l model was the last Jaguar saloon to have had an input from Sir William Lyons, the company's founder.

In the autumn of 1973 (for the 1974 model year), Jaguar launched the Series II XJ6, now only available with the 4.2 engine and, from 1975, a 3.4 was offered. Visually, Series II cars differ externally from their predecessors by raised front bumpers to meet US crash safety regulations, which necessitated a smaller grille, complemented by a discreet additional inlet directly below the bumper. The interior received a substantial update, including simplified heating and A/C arrangements to address criticisms of the complex and not very effective Series I system.

Initially the Series II was offered with two lengths of wheelbase, but at the 1974 London Motor Show Jaguar announced the withdrawal of the standard wheelbase version and subsequent saloons all featured the extra 4 inches of passenger cabin length hitherto featured only on the long-wheelbase model.

Presented here is a 1978 XJ6 Series ll 4.2 saloon in Cotswold Blue with contrasting Cream leather interior, which has covered just 20,215 miles. Supplied new through the famous dealer group Henlys, it is offered today in remarkably original condition. It still retains a look and period feel that is almost impossible to replicate in a restored classic. Our vendor informs us that the characterful 168 bhp 6-cylinder engine and slick automatic gearbox perform very well, and the lovely interior of this executive Jaguar make this classic luxury saloon a joy to be in, as either the driver or passenger. The car has always been well maintained and recent maintenance includes a full service plus the replacing of the power steering pump whilst also flushing the rack, replacing the nearside petrol tank pump and pipes and fitting a new nearside front shock absorber. The car's mileage is supported by a number of previous MoTs in the history file along with some invoices for servicing etc. and a couple of early brochures.

If you are old enough to remember these cars when they were new, you may recall that they always seemed to be driven by bright, important people, and I imagine that should you be driving around now in this delightful, 20,000 mile, time-warp XJ6, it might just engender a similar sense of well-being.