An odd encounter in the real world I wanted to share with you.
Today, my family and I went out for a belated Birthday lunner (a late afternoon lunch/early evening dinner) and I took notice of a car parked near the restaurant I had chosen. Now, I am familiar with Jaguars, including the XJ series, but this car struck me as something....different.
We parked our car, entered the restaurant and after a short wait, place our meal and beverage order. While that was getting sorted by our server and the kitchen, I ducked out to take a closer look at the Jag. At first, I thought I was looking at a restorable convertible, needing some minor to moderate attention, but upon closer examination, things weren't adding up for me.
One of the things that was throwing me off was the framed windows on the doors. Then, I also noticed that same frame continued, capturing the rear quarter panel windows as well. The fabric roof was puzzling me further, since it appeared to come apart in two distinct sections.
I asked myself, "What am I looking at here?"
It seems that back in 1983, Jaguar Cars released this version of the XJS called the XJ-SC. Not a true convertible, but a removable, sectioned roof coupe that retained the window frames and a "sport bar" for rigidity and rollover protection. First offered with a inline six cylinder engine, it was joined by a V12 for 1985.
By 1988, Jaguar Cars discover they could manufacturer a full convertible version that would satisfy the international safety standards imposed on this type of automobile and discontinued the XJ-SC. One source claims 1130 six cylinder and 3862 V12 equipped of these Landaulet-like vehicles were made.
Although I am not interested in making a deal to try and acquire the Jag I saw, I am curious to know what (if any) are the plans for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment