(first posted 4/30/2013. It’s been the only sighting so far at CC of one of these handsome coupes. And to add some more of the backstory, I’m adding a Road and Track Road Test of the new XJ12C from 1976)
Nothing like sunny spring weather to brings out the beautiful flowers as well as the garaged cars that have been sequestered away all winter. Well, I make that assumption about this fine Jag coupe without knowing for sure. But I’ve never seen it before, and it does looks pampered. Rightfully so; it’s one of the more beautiful coupes ever built. In fact, its owner made a point to park it on the side of the store instead of in the parking lot. Mustn’t have someone put a ding on those sleek and naked flanks.
I’m just guessing at this coupe’s model year, as it gets a bit hairy trying to do so from looks alone. 1975 was the first proper year of production on this short-lived car, as 1977 was the last full year of production, so let’s split the difference. A mere 6,505 XJ6 coupes were built, and another 1,8703 of the V12 variant. Needless to say, a higher percentage of them have survived than the sedans, due to their elegance and rarity.
The interior is pretty much standard XJ6 Series II. Frankly, these low-roof Series I and II cars work better as coupes, or four-door coupes, as headroom was always less than ideal for a proper saloon. That was finally fixed in the high-roof Series III cars, but sadly the coupe was all-too soon abandoned. Presumably it was because jaguar didn’t want too much internal competition for its XJ-S? I’ll take one of these any day over an XJ-S.
There’s just not a bad line on this car, although of course the 5-mph bumpers don’t exactly do it any favors. The XJ6 Coupe was intended to arrive for the 1973 MY, but the combination of a global recession and difficulties with the window sealing of the true hardtop caused Jaguar to delay its intro.
All XJ6 coupes came from the factory with vinyl tops, as the flexing of the roof panel was to much for the paints at the time, and caused it to crack. But modern paints have solved that problem, and many have been stripped of their vinyl tops (hurrah!), which also reduces the threat of rust forming under the top. Feast your eyes.
These imo are some of the nicest-looking coupes/sedans of the era. Too bad most have had their engines yanked in favor of a 350/350. But then again, at least they allow their owners to spend a few miles on the road between wrenchings.
There was a white XJC on ebay for a while with a built 350 that I just loved and considered buying. I’m all for preserving a cars uniqueness, but when it comes to the difference in reliability and power between the 2, I’ll take a 350 Jag over a V12 or I6 any day.
Ltd – I know what you mean re reliability but there is nothing more seductive than the power and sounds of an XJ6 or XJ12.Sure for reliability a Chev engine may be the go but it takes that Jaguar/cat like feel away from the car.A Jaguar experience is a composite and often flawed flirtation,diminished by an engine apposite to its original purpose.You would have to be wealthy,patient,tolerant to retain a Jaguar in its original form but there is no other car that can provide those very special qualities a Jag can.Silky smooth and that addictive roar from the exhaust.
That last pic really looks nice, good stance and I like the short front overhang with the long rear one. It’s got a bit of Alfa GTA in it to my eyes as well from that angle which is always a good thing (not that Jaguars ever needed any assistance in the looks department…)
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen or even knew of these.
That is a handsome car! The demise of the full-size coupe is such a bummer, and not just for Jag but the auto industry as a whole.
I can’t stop looking at this one!
Not too many of these in Iowa, eh?
I’ve seen lots of XJ-Ss, XJ sedans…all of the late model iterations…and even an XK and XKE on occasion. But I’ve never come across an XJ-C, in Iowa or anywhere else!
Beautiful car. Great lines and awesome cockpit. classy!
Despite its usual comparisons to the Camaro and Mustang, the Challenger is a full-size coupe, through and through.
aaah, how lovely is that car?! very, or very, very much?
probably the one car I’d most want to own but never will be stupid enough to buy … actually spoke to a specialty shop once, which had one on their hands for restauration. the owner said that apparently, these cannot be subjected to rain, ever, as they will rust away in seconds from inside out. the construction and execution was/is so bad, it is impossible to get the body right, even if you try very hard. truly a monster spawned by 70’s automotive Britain, albeit an extremely handsome one!
Dont believe too much of what you hear c107 there are many of these cars here in our damp climate and they last just fine your specialty shop obviously doesnt specialise in Jaguars and shouldnt be listened to. My doctor OTOH does specialise in restoring Jaguars maybe you should talk to him and get some real information. Dr Gregory Beacham of beacham independant Jaguar. NZ.
Gorgeous car and not many around those came in two wheelbase lengths so not a cheap car to produce. XJ Jags were popular here in their day.
bryce, thanks for the info.
i think the sedans are a whole different story than the coupes. the specific problems of the coupe are, as far as i know, mostly due to the shortened wheelbase, which combined with the pillarless hardtop rendered the car without much structural rigidity. BL tried to rectify this by welding double-layers of metal pretty randomly throughout the body (seen this at the shop, ridiculously ancient method even in the 70’s), which was a recipe for rust-disaster: creating various caverns in a body made from cheap steel which will let in water anywhere, especially as the window seals just don’t work (again, the too flexible body), is not a very sound idea, no?
but I totally agree with you – to my eyes, the coupe is one of the most beautiful designs, ever. it’s got a V.I.P. place in my dream garage, for sure … (dark blue with tan leather, please)
While the styling is beautiful and so elegant how come Jag couldn’t build a decent car? I mean GM was building two door hardtops since what? Nineteen fortynine? Still always want a Jag, I think about the XK8.
…..and here we go again, a Jaguar that is beautiful from every angle but so fundamentally flawed it was doomed to failure.
The XJ6 seies of sedans was successful here in Australia for years, despite quality woes. I don’t think anyone ever lined up to buy a second 12 cyl though.
I always wondered why there were so few of these coupes around and you can bet that Jaguar never intended to sell such a small number. Of course it was the quality issue once again. I also wondered why they all had vinyl roofs, though deep down I just knew poor quality was behind it and so it was…flexing roof panels due to lousy rigidity in the body. The fix? A cheap and cynical cover-up, literally in this case!
this one’s really a beauty !
I think I want one of these more than an E-Type.
Give me one in Ecurie Ecosse blue (Flag Blue Metallic), with slightly flared wheelarches and either a later EFI V12 or a tuned 4.2l XK engine (either mechanical fuel injection or triple carbs).
The article that got me into XJCs is here, along with a good example of slightly flared wheelarches: http://jaguar.fiboy.com/XJ12C.htm
That article was a fascinating read, cheers!
One of my favorite designs right up there with the BMW 2800CS. Seems like everyone knew how to do coupes back then; the Mercedes 250C, Mark III and Toronado/Riveria/Eldorado were all beautiful.
I was going to say the demise of the hardtop will prevent that from ever happening again but the BMW 6-series was sure a looker as were all 3-series coupes and first gen Infiniti G35.
Don’t know why Nissan made the more recent G35 Coupe look like a Tiburon and wonder how they are going to turn the new G sedan (called a Q50 now) into an attractive coupe, if they want to keep that lightening bolt signature on the C-pillar.
The embarrassing thing is that the XJ6C/XJ12C looked a lot better than the XJ-S. The XJC doesn’t really have a bad angle, whereas the XJ-S looked good from some angles, … interesting from some, and blah from others.
Thanks for explaining the vinyl top story, I though the original reason was to cover up body seams but cracking paint is also reasonable. I always liked these cars and thought they were better looking than the XJS. I am curious what an XJC would look like with a Series III facelift since the C pillar shape looks close to a Series III sedan.
You were correct. It was the seam where the C-Pillar meets the body; covered by a chrome strip in the example above.
A beautiful car. I had not seen one of these in so long, I had forgotten about them. Needs to be British Racing Green, though. Should be easy enough to find the owner, go into the store and look for the shortest person there. 🙂
LOL
There was one of these in my hometown when I was in high school. It was white with a black vinyl top and belonged to the father of a couple girls at my school. I don’t recall now if it was an XJ6C or an XJ12C, but I know that it was driven pretty regularly in the mid ’80s. I used to point it out to people whenever I saw it, but nobody seemed to care about it. There was a red FIAT Dino convertible with big Ferrari shields on the fenders that got a bit more attention.
Beautiful cars, their maladies are nothing an engine swap won’t cure… 😛
But god I do love those lines, right up until 2009 and when they changed Jaguars into looking like Buick Lucernes on steroids.
Years ago I spotted one of these in Pick-A-Part, in very poor condition. Strangely, the engine was missing. The body and interior were a mess.
So so pretty, I have always loved these, and I have seen some temptingly cheap ones, even the double trouble V-12 versions, but I know that it would be an experience that would end in nothing but heartache.
Call me wrong, but I like the vinyl top on these, with the body in light color and a dark top.
That’s a very nice example but I prefer the solid color; also, this is one car that just seems to look better with blackwalls. These were around in some small numbers in SoCal when new and once in a great while I spot one in traffic, often driven by what appears to be the original owner. They look quite perfect today on Rodeo in Beverly Hills.
They do have this moneyed playboy jet set lifestyle look to them, in my dream fantasy 70’s garage there would be one of these or an E-type, its fantasy, so they would work…maybe, along with a fine selection of 70’s Cadillacs.
yes Carmine,they are an exquisite car,appearance wise at least.I don’t recall one being sold in Tasmania and have seen very few in my travels across Oz.I remember reading that they had big problems with the window seals,not effective at high speeds and they were capable of fast travel.
Done like that it could almost be a convertible with the top up, at first glance. Wonder it that was the effect Jaguar were aiming for?
Austin Powers would exclaim of this Jag, “Yeah Baby!”
I’ve always liked these XJ coupes. All this one needs are Kent rims, 4-speed stick, the 4.2L DOHC I6, and a fresh coat of BRG to go.
I’ve always liked these XJ coupes. All this one needs are Kent rims (shown below), 4-speed stick, the 4.2L DOHC I6, Euro bumpers, and a fresh coat of BRG to go.
Never seen the coupe version.
In its day, I found them boring…boring from the viewpoint of a high-school junior who couldn’t pick between the Jeep CJs at Halleen AMC or the fake-Rollz Beetle over at Dragan-Sidaris Volks. No…an old man’s car.
Time has brought wisdom…along with Viagra and receding hair. I now find it a damned good-looking car.
Question: Was the Jag six, a Slant Six setup…half the V-12?
Hi,
the straight 6 was a derivative of the 1948 XK series (used in 6 cylinder Jaguars until 1986) and the V12 was a completely different animal.
The XK 6 cylinder was designed during the war, under the radar, and built using equipment used in the Great War for rifling gun barrels.
Roger,in Australia most Jaguars had problems with overheating in our hot climate,even in more temperate Tasmania.The twin o’head cam 6 cylinder was a highly refined and tuned motor but was ultimately troublesome here.Often said owning a Jaguar was like love and hate at the same time.I look at modern Jaguars and they don’t have that style William Lyons created.Now that I think of it,Lyons and Jaguar.Sounds like a circus.
100% correct and there was the standing joke that if you wanted a Jag, better buy two so you could have one in the workshop and one to drive. I only owned one, but can prove the ‘buy 2’ theory wrong. Put my XJs V12 in for yet another repair/service/warranty issue when it was a couple of months old and they gave me a Daimler Double Six as a courtesy car, which broke down and stopped in traffic within sight of the dealership. I got a cab….
Call me an old British pedant, but I think the vinyl roof suits this car better than any other.
But we don’t know what’s wrong with Lucas electrical equipment either!
OK, you’re an old British pedant. 🙂 Actually, I agree with you on the vinyl roof, it does look right on these. If that makes me an old American pedant, then so be it.
Saw a couple of these at a car show earlier in the year, I think one may have had the vinyl roof removed. apparently the rear side window had a hideously complex mechanism to wind it down due to lack of space, which was one of the reasons it debuted so late.
The rear-side windows did indeed take a strange path toward full-retract, but mine still worked (however slowly) even when 20 years old.
Awesome story! I remember seeing only one XJ6C. Beautiful looking car. I’ve seen more four door XJ6s than two doors.
This is among one of the most elegant coupes ever built. Simply gorgeous!
The XJ will always be my all-time favorite automotive design, and the coupe is achingly beautiful, even more so in this case without the vinyl roof treatment. (Although I do think some colors, particularly the lighter hues like white or silver, look better with the vinyl, oddly enough.)
I respectfully disagree with earlier comments about the need for Kent alloys though. I think any XJ through Series III looks better with the chromed wheel & cap combo shown here. The Kents are a nice design, but the earlier treatment is stunning.
I saw a black one with a black vinyl roof and red leather interior in the 90s in Sydney,sex on wheels.Just a beautiful design.
In the running for most gorgeous coupe ever. And I fully agree on the wheel choice–the Kents work on SIII cars but these chromed steel w/cap are the superior choice. Perfect for the car.
Thanks for the repost on this beautiful car. I’ve seen a couple this summer, one at a Concours and the other at a BAJ (Bay Area Jaguars, Jaguar Forum.com) get together. We took a little drive up to Saint Helena. All the cars made it there. I wish that there was a modern version of this type car. At least BMW and Mercedes Benz are still producing luxury coupes.
What a difference a year can make. I took the plunge and bought two Jaguars, an XJS V12 convert which is very nice, but I’m doing some work on, and my daily driver ’97 XJ6. I am having a lot of fun with the XJ. I don’t see the reason to swap out the sixes, there are lots of these engines and parts cars out there. If you are thinking of an early XJ6, better buy one soon as prices are starting to climb.
I don’t see any tow trucks in this picture.
The XJ -S only looked good from inside where you couldn’t see the damned thing.
The two brothers who owned a farm I worked on in western Sydney used to buy expensive cars one of their wives got a V12 XJC Jag dark blue, black top beautifull car and over the years I worked there 17 seasons in all she always drove that car whenever she turned up, It wasnt exactly trouble free but it was more reliable and a lot less expensive to keep on the road than her husbands BMW 7 series or her BILs Mercedes, She had refused many times to replace it with a newer car intending to keep it forever while the rest of the family traded in expensive luxury cars on a regular basis. Its the only one Ive ever seen close up gorgeous cars, out of my price range and ability to keep alive but for those with unluimited money, a great buy
I posted a CC find (ok a carpark find) recently:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule/cc-capsule-monday-morning-rarities-jaguar-xjc-the-british-personal-car/
I too found one a few weeks ago…in a bit less robust condition. 🙁
One of the rarest finds on CC I think, it is almost unheard of for and XJC to be let go like that!
The fact that it is sitting in the weeds in that condition, rather than having been sent to the crusher, suggests that someone put it there years ago with the intention of restoring it but just couldn’t get around to it. It may have been a feasible task at the time, but now? Not likely.
I was reading about the “Corvette Impala” yesterday and thought it was a lovely car. But the XJ-C has that timeless beauty never matched. William Lyons had the touch.
I knew a bloke had an old XJ-C racer that he was restoring to Sports sedan specs. Last I saw it, was lacking only an engine.,
If a Chevy 350 is too brash for the elegance of this car, would, say, the 2JZ-GE drivetrain from a pre-OBD-II SC300 be a feasible possibility?