The Jaguar XJ-S (later the Jaguar XJS) was a luxury grand tourer produced by the British manufacturer Jaguar. It replaced the legendary Jaguar E-Type in 1975 and was built until 1996, when it was replaced by the Jaguar XK series.
Originally developed using the platform of the then-current XJ saloon, the XJ-S was noted for its prominent rear buttresses. The early styling was partially by Jaguar's aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer—one of the first designers to apply advanced aero principles to cars—however Sayer died in 1970, before the design was finalised.
Its final iteration, produced from 1991 to 1996, was manufactured after Jaguar was acquired by Ford, who introduced numerous modifications – and eliminated the hyphen in the name, marketing Jaguar's longest running model simply as the XJS.
Appearances[]
- In Series 1, Episode 9 of Top Gear, a white XJ-S was stripped down by Jason Dawe to see if it would go faster.
- In Series 2, Episode 3, Richard Hammond entered one in his own Supercar World Cup, using the same XJ-S that was stripped down in the previous series, with the addition of N2O boosters.
- In Series 3, Episode 1, The Black Stig drove the white XJ-S off an aircraft carrier, presumably dying.
- In Series 6, Episode 2, during the Coupés That Aren't Porsches Challenge, James May's car of choice was a gold 1983 XJ-S, which was derided by his co-hosts due to the car being made during the British Leyland era.
- In the India Special, Jeremy Clarkson's car of choice was a green 1991 Jaguar XJ-S Celebration.
- In Series 17 Episode 4, the trio modify an XJS to travel on rails, with Clarkson later using it and naming it the TGV12, or the "Sports Train".
- In Jaaaaaaaags, May's backup car was an XJS, in similar fashion to the one used for the TGV12.
- On Top Gear USA Season 2, Episode 5, Tanner Foust sources an 82' XJ-S with a secret engine; uses its power to annoy Rutledge and Adam for a used luxury car challenge.