This is one
car that people either do not know about or do not
fully understand it's greatness in the Jaguar family.
In my view, it is perhaps the most beautiful
"modern" era non-sports Jaguar that has been made. In
some ways, it even surpasses the brilliant new XJ-6s
of 1997. Of course, the topic at hand is the short-lived
Jaguar Coupes of the middle to late 1970's.
The seventies were
not kind to the auto industry in general and Jaguar in
particular. Under the survitude of British Leyland,
Jaguar lacked the funding and support to grow the way
it should. In an effort to bolster its product line,
they introduced the first (and only) coupe since the thirties--
an XK powered six cylinder and the 12-cylinder engine from the
XJ-S.
The coupes carried the
banner of Jaguar high in both performance and style.
Unfortunately, it was in a time of production problems,
a major gasoline energy crisis, public apathy, and poor
management by British Leyland. The car was ahead of its
time and in the wrong marketplace. Only 6,505 XJ6C
and 1,873 XJ12C were made.
My first look at one
was after I got out of the Navy and I was going to the University
of San Francisco. I rode a racing 10-speed for around town
transportation (much easier to park!) and was riding home through
Golden Gate Park one day near the Japanese Tea Garden when I came
up on this beautiful Sable Brown XJ12C with chrome rims
parked on the side of the road letting someone out of the car.
It was a brilliantly clear, sunny San Francisco day, unlike the usual
fog that rolled across the park in the morning hours off the
ocean. The sun caught the curves of the car as if it were
a classic portrait. I stopped the bike just to look. And then,
like a cloud caught by a slight breeze, the car drifted away
from the curb and down the road.
Naturally, being in
great shape, I rode in pursuit, following behind the leisurely
Jag at
about 15-20 MPH. Watching it glide effortlessly in silence
past the Botanical Gardens and out onto 12th Avenue on the
Inner Sunset Side of the Park, I had another
"love-at-first-sight-with-British-Car" encounter. I always
kept my eye out for Jaguar XJ Coupes, but even in exotic-car-rich
San Franciso, they were hard to come by. I love the lines of
this car, and would have it for looks alone. But a nicely
tuned V12 with the windows rolled down....I could get used
to it!
Favorite
British
Cars
