An unusual Jaguar XJ-S brings back memories of the past.
Do you ever wonder what happened to cars that featured in your past, but that you've lost touch with? Back when I was at school, the father of one of my friends owned a rather unusual Jaguar XJ-S. It was longer than the standard Jag and had the rear buttresses removed and the C pillar squared off in a style not unlike some of the American sedans of the time. It was a regular and distinctive site in my local village.
I haven't seen the car since I left school an undisclosed number of years ago (ahem) so I was rather surprised to spot the car on Facebook page UK Barnfinds as an eBay listing. It turns out the car was one of a very small number of XJ-Ss modified by Bristol company Glenholme Limited.
Glenholme's objective was clearly to offer more rear cabin space than in the notoriously cramped interior in the standard Jag. As always, the styling is subjective, but while Glenholme may have been successful in increasing space it was definitely at the expense of style. Not that the XJ-S will ever win any beauty prizes anyway...
The advert indicates that only two cars were made in this style and perhaps only this one had the 3.6 litre AJ6 engine and a manual gearbox. Researching the Jaguar forums this seems to be pretty accurate. There was also at least one other car with the stretch that retained the buttresses.
Time has not been kind to this special XJ-S and the car is offered needing full restoration. There are obvious signs of body rust in the photos and I would not be surprised if the decaying vinyl roof hides some serious horrors.
Having said that the interior appears to be in remarkably good condition considering the rest of the car.
At the time of writing there are no bids at the starting price of a mere £100. I do like the XJ-S in general but despite its personal history to me this is not a car I'd be tempted by, partly because it would be almost impossible to recoup the cost of restoring it. Hopefully an XJ-S enthusiast will buy it and restore it as a labour of love.