The Jaguar XJ is a luxury sedan manufactured by Jaguar Cars between 1986 and 1994. It was an all-new redesign of the XJ to replace the Series III, although the two model ranges were sold concurrently until the Series III was discontinued in 1992. The XJ40 used the Jaguar independent rear suspension

Jaguar independent rear suspension

Jaguar's independent rear suspension unit has been a common component of a number of Jaguar production cars since 1961, passing through three major changes of configuration up to 2003 and still used in the full-sized Jaguar XJ...

 arrangement, and featured a number of technological enhancements (such as electronic instrumentation).

The 1993 XJ6 earned the title of "Safest Car in Britain" as the result of a government survey. When the XJ40 was discontinued in 1994, it was followed by the X300 platform XJ

Jaguar XJ (X300)

The Jaguar XJ is a luxury sedan manufactured by Jaguar Cars between 1994 and 1997. It was the first XJ produced entirely under Ford ownership, and can be considered an evolution of the outgoing XJ40 generation. Like all previous XJ generations, it features the Jaguar independent rear suspension...

.

Development

Throughout the 1970s Jaguar had been developing "Project XJ40", which was an all-new model intended to replace the original XJ6. Scale models were being built as early as 1972. Due to the 1973 oil crisis

1973 oil crisis

The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...

 and problems at parent company British Leyland, the car was continually delayed. Proposals from both Jaguar's in-house designers and Pininfarina were received. Eventually, it was decided an internal design would be carried through to production, and, in February 1981, the British Leyland board approved ₤80 million to produce the new car. However, by the launch, over ₤200 million had been invested.

XJ40 Investment up to 1986

Area	Amount
XJ40 R&D model	₤50 million
Tooling at Austin-Rover and other component suppliers	₤70 million
Building work and new transfer line for the AJ6 engine Jaguar AJ6 engine The AJ6 , and the similar AJ16, was an inline-6 piston engine used by Jaguar in the 1980s and 1990s. It was designed to replace the much-loved Jaguar XK6 engine, and was introduced in 1984. The AJ6 was only the third engine ever designed by the company...  at Radford	₤35 million
Building work for the manufacture of axles at Radford	₤10 million
Paint facilities at Castle Bromwich	₤25 million
Pilot assembly plant at Browns Lane	₤10 million

During development, the XJ40 pioneered significant improvements to the way Jaguar designed, built, and assembled cars. Among these improvements was a 25% reduction in the number of bodywork panels required per car (e.g. three pressings needed for Series 3 door compared with one pressing for XJ40 door), resulting in not only a more efficient assembly process, but also a weight saving and a stiffier structure. Greater attention to panel gaps improved the drag factor (reduced from 0.849 Cd to 0.762 Cd), while also improving the fuel economy and lowering wind noise inside the cabin.

The XJ40 became the most-tested car at Jaguar, completing 1,240,000 miles (2,000,000 km) in Arizona (summer heat testing), 1,100,000 miles (1,800,000 km) in Canada (winter testing), 1,800,000 miles (2,900,000 km) in Australia (heat and dust testing), in addition to 750,000 miles (1,210,000 km) on the high-speed Nardo circuit in Italy and other general road tests.

Mechanicals

Initially, only two engines were offered across the XJ40 models: a 2.9L and a 3.6L version of the AJ6 inline-six

Jaguar AJ6 engine

The AJ6 , and the similar AJ16, was an inline-6 piston engine used by Jaguar in the 1980s and 1990s. It was designed to replace the much-loved Jaguar XK6 engine, and was introduced in 1984. The AJ6 was only the third engine ever designed by the company...

. In 1990, these were changed to 3.2L and 4.0L versions. In 1993, the XJ12 and Daimler Double Six (both equipped with the Jaguar V12 engine

Jaguar V12 engine

Jaguar V12 piston engine was one of the premier powerplants of the 1970s and 1980s. It was first seen in the Series 3 Jaguar E-type of 1971 and was based loosely on an earlier design intended for a Le Mans car, the ill-fated Jaguar XJ13. The V12 was only Jaguar's second engine design to go into...

) were added to the available models.

During the development of the XJ40, British Leyland had considered providing the Rover V8 engine

Rover V8 engine

The Rover V8 engine is a compact V8 internal combustion engine with aluminium cylinder heads and cylinder block, originally designed by General Motors and later re-designed and produced by Rover in the United Kingdom...

 for the car, which would have eliminiated the need for future Jaguar engine production. The XJ40 bodyshell was allegedly engineered to prevent fitting V-configuration engines such as the Rover V8; this delayed the introduction of the V12-powered XJ12 until 1993.

The automatic gearbox used in the six-cylinder cars was the four-speed ZF 4HP24

ZF 4HP24 transmission

The ZF 4HP24 is a four-speed automatic transmission for passenger cars from ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Introduced in 1987, it is still in production, and has been used in a variety of cars from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Land Rover.-4HP24:...

. A stronger automatic gearbox was required for the V12-equipped cars, and the four-speed GM 4L80-E

GM 4L80-E transmission

The 4L80-E is a series of automatic transmissions from General Motors. Designed for longitudinal engine configurations, the series includes 4 forward gears. It is an evolution of the Turbo-Hydramatic 400, first produced in October, 1963...

 was selected. The manual gearbox fitted to early cars was the five-speed Getrag

Getrag

Getrag is a leading manufacturer of automobile manual transmissions. The company was founded on 1 May 1935, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, by Hermann Hagenmeyer; as the Getriebe und Zahnradfabrik Hermann Hagenmeyer GmbH & Cie KG...

 265, while later cars received the Getrag 290.

The automatic transmission selector was redesigned to allow the manual selection of forward gears without accidentally selecting neutral or reverse. This new feature was dubbed the "J-Gate" and has carried over to more recent Jaguar models.

Exterior

The curvaceous lines of the outgoing Series XJ were replaced by the more angular, geometric shape of the XJ40. The nose of the car would accomodate either matched pairs of round headlights, or rectangular single units; the latter were fitted to the higher-specification Sovereign and Daimler trim levels, and also to all cars for the US market.

The bumper is a visually distinct black-rubber-covered bar that runs the full width of the car and incorporates the sidelights and indicator lights. The bonnet is hinged at the front. Window frames are either chromed or black, depending on model. Rain gutters, door mirrors, and door handles are also finished in chrome. All XJ40s have a chrome surround for the windscreen and a single windscreen wiper.

Early low-specification cars were fitted with metric-sized steel wheels and plastic wheelcovers. From 1991, the wheels were changed to non-metric sizing.

Interior

The interior of the XJ40 was trimmed with either walnut or rosewood, and either cloth or leather upholstery (depending on model.)

Until 1990, cars were fitted with an instrument binnacle that used digital readouts. Instrumentation included a display named the "Vehicle Condition Monitor" (VCM), which contained a 32x32 dot-matrix screen capable of 34 functions. The VCM was able to alert the driver of bulb failure, brake pad wear, unlatched doors/boot, and low coolant level. From 1990 on, the binnacle was redesigned to use analog gauges.

Early cars used a two-spoke steering wheel that was later changed for a four-spoke airbag

Airbag

An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window...

-equipped wheel. The glovebox was removed on later cars because of the space occupied when the passenger-side airbag was introduced. Some XJ40s bound for the United States were fitted with automatic seat belts.

XJ6

The base XJ6 of the model range was modestly equipped; extra-cost options included alloy wheels, anti-lock brakes

Anti-lock braking system

An anti-lock braking system is a safety system that allows the wheels on a motor vehicle to continue interacting tractively with the road surface as directed by driver steering inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up and therefore avoiding skidding.An ABS generally offers...

, air conditioning, leather upholstery, and an automatic transmission. The exterior featured two pairs of circular headlamps and black powder-coated window frames.

Soverign

The Sovereign model came equipped with significantly more features than the base XJ6. Included was air conditioning, headlamp washers, a six-speaker sound system, rear adjustable suspension, and ABS. The headlamps fitted were the rectangular single units. The window frames were chrome-plated.

Sport

Late in the XJ40 run, in 1993, Jaguar introduced the Sport model. It was available only with the six-cylinder engine, and featured rosewood interior trim (as opposed to the walnut trim of other models.) Both the door mirrors and radiator grill vanes were color-keyed to the body, which was decorated with twin coachlines. Wider-profile tires were fitted, mounted on five-spoke alloy wheels.

Majestic

A long-wheelbase model named the "Majestic" was introduced in 1994, although it was only available as a special order from Jaguar.

Gold

The Gold model was introduced in 1994 with a limited set of features and options, and for a modest price. It was available in fewer exterior colors than other models, and was identified by a gold-plated badge on the boot and gold growler badge at the top of the radiator grille. Gold cars were fitted with the "Kiwi" style wheels and painted with twin coachlines.

XJR

The XJR, introduced in 1988, was a high-performance model that was finished by the Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

-based JaguarSport company. It was fitted with stiffer suspension, improved brakes, and special exterior paint and exterior styling touches. The engine was a 3.6L unit tuned for slightly more power.

The XJR differed cosmetically from other XJ40 models with its body-colored bumper bars, black-painted radiator grille vanes, and either flat Speedline alloy wheels or ventilated wheels. The door sills were extended with fiberglass

Fiberglass

Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...

 mouldings. The interior featured a leather MOMO

MOMO (company)

MOMO Srl is a design company headquartered in Milan, Italy that makes accessories and parts for automobiles.- Company history :MOMO was founded by gentleman racer Giampiero Moretti in the 1960s. MOMO are the initials for Moretti-Monza. Monza is a region in the Province of Milan.In 1969 MOMO opened...

steering wheel, leather shift knob, and "XJR" embossed seat headrests.

XJ12 (XJ81)

Given the model code "XJ81", the XJ40-based XJ12 was introduced in 1993 and powered by a 6.0L version of Jaguar's V12 engine. It could be identified by the "XJ12" badge on the rear and a "V12" emblem on the glovebox. The XJ12 used the two twin-headlamp pairs, black radiator grille vanes, and a gold "growler" badge on the radiator grille top. Early cars used chrome-plated window frames; on later cars, these were changed to black.

Daimler / Vanden Plas

The Daimler-branded cars represented the highest trim level, and were sold as the "Vanden Plas" model (still under the Jaguar name) in other markets such as the United States. Like the Sovereign, it was fitted with the single rectangular headlamps. Cosmetically, it differed from other models with its fluted radiator grille surround and boot-lid plinth.

Production numbers

Model	Production	Price new (£)
2.9	11,191	16,495
2.9 Sovereign	2,957	22,995
3.6 standard	9,349	18,495
3.6 Sovereign	49,941	24,995
3.6 (US market)	13,319
3.6 Daimler	10,313	28,495
3.2	13,056	26,200
3.2 Sport	3,117	29,950
3.2 Gold	1,499	28,450
3.2 Sovereign	3,491	34,550
4.0	13,858	25,200
4.0 Sport	500	34,950
4.0 Gold	23	28,950
4.0 Sovereign	50,409	32,500
4.0 (US market)	12,864
4.0 Daimler	8,876	36,500
XJ6 LWB	67	52,700
XJ12	1,565	46,600
XJ12 (export)	1,325
Daimler Double Six	1,102	51,700
XJ12 LWB	101
V12 Majestic	50
Prototypes	33
Total	208,733