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JAGUAR XJ6C
Early styling drawings show that Jaguar always planned a coupe version of the XJ6 from the car's launch in 1968. But internal wranglings within British Leyland meant that it was 1975 before the last car styled by Sir William Lyons saw the light of day.
Sir William conceived the coupe as an elegant and upmarket alternative to the saloon, with a particular eye on the America market where Jaguars were already popular. He imagined a relatively straightforward conversion of the existing saloon using fashionable pillarless design, which as the name sugests removed the 'B'-post between the front and rear seats and created an uninterrupted view out of the side of the car from the front to rear. The car would be available in Daimler and Jaguar guises and use the venerable 4.2 litre straight six XK engine or the brand new fuel injected 5.3 litre V12.
Production of the new car was held up by politics and lack of cash within British Leyland as well as continual problems with the pillarless styling and innovative rear window mechanism of the car. Despite the final production car having to feature a vinyl roof to hide all of the welding work required, the new coupe was hailed as the most beautiful version of the XJ6, a car that was already considered one of the most attractive saloon cars ever made.
The two door coupe version of the Jaguar XJ6 was built on the standard wheelbase version of the saloon car chassis. The gives the car excellent interior space and rear legroom for a coupe.
The car was available in as a Jaguar or Daimler with the option of the V12 or straight six engine. The Daimler was known as a Daimler Sovereign (4.2) or Daimler Double Six Sovereign (V12). Daimler versions were largely the same as the Jaguars but with higher standards of trim.
Thanks to the production delays, the coupe was launched in the same year as the new XJ-S grand tourer. The XJ-S inevitable stole most of the attention despite being more expensive, more controversially styled and offering less passenger space. Yet the coupe found a niche among customers who valued its more olde-worlde charm.
The XJC was never sold in America and as a result production volumes remained very small with just over 5,000 cars being sold in three years. It was discontinued in early 1978.
Jaguar XJ6 Coupe Production Figures
Total production 5,164 Jaguar coupes 3,208 Daimler coupes 1,956 4.2 coupes 4,190 V12 coupes 974 Jaguar 4.2 2,605 Jaguar V12 603 Daimler 4.2 1,585 Daimler V12 371
