Brochure images are from the collection of Hemmings Motor News
The XJ6 cast an incredibly long shadow. It took the concerted effort of Jaguar‘s current design director, Ian Callum, to step away from the design language that dated back to the original XJ6, when he penned the current-generation XJ. But we can’t blame Jaguar for maintaining that styling thread for four decades, because Sir William Lyons’s original was just so right- and the Pininfarina styling update that created the 1980-1987 Series III models made for a car that was absolutely coveted in its time, and still admired today.
The Series III -in both standard XJ6 and luxe-trimmed Vanden Plas forms- looked great, with its traditional Jaguar saloon grille and standard GKN “Kent” alloy wheels. Those deep-pile faux sheepskin floormats in the VdP looked odd and would be probably be ruined pretty quickly after one Vermont winter, but they just begged you to take off your shoes and rub your stocking feet in them.
And of course, being a Jaguar, it’s has a sporting chassis with a masterfully-tuned fully independent suspension and four wheel vented disc brakes, and it’s powered by the justly famed XK DOHC straight-six engine, a derivative of the one that made the 1948 XK120 the fastest production sports car in the world.
Indeed, after pouring through this brochure, it’s not surprising to learn that the XJ6 had one of its best sales years here in 1984, when 14,564 were sold.
Have you ever driven a Series III?
Click on the images below to enlarge.
More gadget review in www.mamaktalk.com
