Jaguar XJ-S

The first Jaguar XJ-S appeared in 1977 as a 1976 model. Power came from the Jaguar V-12 petrol engine with a choice of a manual or automatic transmission, but the manual was soon dropped. V-12 automobiles were unusual at the time, with notable others coming from Italian luxury sports car makers Lamborghini and Ferrari. The specifications of the Jaguar XJ-S compared well with both Italian cars; it was able to accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 7.8 seconds and reach 142 mph (229 km/h). The first series of Jaguar XJ-S cars had a Borg-Warner Model 12 transmission with a cast iron case and a bolt-on bell-housing. In 1979 GM Turbo-Hydromatic 400 transmissions were fitted. The TH400 transmission was an all aluminium alloy case with an integrated non-detachable bell-housing.

Jaguar's timing was not good; the car was launched in the wake of a fuel crisis, and the market for a 5.3 litre V12 grand tourer was very small. The styling was also the subject of criticism, including the "flying buttresses" behind the windows. German authorities feared these would restrict rearward vision, and refused to give the model (along with a similarly adorned contemporary Lancia model) type approval: it was for a time necessary instead for German XJ-S buyers to obtain type approval for each individual car when registering it. Such fears were ill founded, since in reality the rear visibility was very reasonable, with only the frontmost top edges of the buttresses being visible, when looking rearward.

Jaguar did seize promotional opportunities with the television series The New Avengers and Return of the Saint. The New Avengers featured Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt) who drove an Jaguar XJ-S. Return of the Saint saw Simon Templar (played by Ian Ogilvy) driving an early Jaguar XJ-S with the number plate "ST 1". Miniature versions were made by Corgi and proved popular. A decade and a half before, Jaguar had turned down the producers of the earlier Saint series when approached about the E-type; the producers had instead used a Volvo P1800.

Responding to criticisms that the Jaguar XJ-S was not a worthy E-type successor, Pininfarina revealed a sporty show car in 1978 based on Jaguar XJ-S mechanicals and called Jaguar XJSpider. The car never went into production.

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