DATABASE: JAGUAR XK8 / XK 1996-2013
The XJ-S may be accepted without question as a fully fledged classic Jaguar today, yet for much of its lifespan it lived in the shadow of the E-Type. The boldly modern, forwardlooking XJ-S may have been technically superior to the E-Type in every way, yet its grand touring focus took the marque in a different direction from the older car. It was a direction which was more in tune with changing times, but by the early 1990s, retro was all the rage and with the XJ-S (by then the facelifted XJS) itself ageing, a replacement was needed.
Work on replacing the sports coupe in Jaguar’s line-up had taken several false starts and the firm had in fact developed the adventurous ‘XJ41’ which was essentially a coupe version of the XJ40 saloon clothed in a modern interpretation of the curvaceous E-Type styling complete with turbocharged engines and four-wheel drive. The XJ41 had its roots in the early ’80s, a time when the XJ-S really did look like its future was limited, but when Ford took over the firm the XJ41 – by then already dubbed ‘F Type’ by an excited press – was dropped from the Jaguar line-up in 199, as investment was concentrated on overhauling the ancient production facilities at Brown’s Lane.
The effort wasn’t wasted though: elements of the ill-fated XJ41 were adapted to suit the XJS platform and used to create the Aston Martin DB7. Meanwhile, it was decided that the XJ-S would need to soldier on for a few more years while a replacement was developed and it was this stay of execution which justified extensive engineering work to
