Great Escape Jaguar XJ6 stars in Sky crime documentary

We took our 1974 Jaguar XJ6 saloon down to London again recently for a film shoot for a Sky crime documentary. The script called for a large 1970s saloon to transport the criminals and our low slung Jaguar XJ6 four door saloon fitted the bill. Our Sable car is identical to one driven by Arthur Daley in Minder so while this project was perhaps not as glamorous as the fashion shoots that the car has recently appeared in, it does at least express another aspect of the character of William Lyons' evergreen saloon.

The Jaguar XJ6 arrived in London very early at the production team's offices just off Oxford Street. The Jaguar turned heads in the rush our traffic with several drivers winding down their windows to find out more about the sleek, low-slung coupe-like saloon. The car performed faultlessly on the 3 hour journey, despite the heavy traffic.

From the production offices we headed out to White City where the shoot took place. The Jaguar featured in virtually every scene. The script required the actors to load a body wrapped in carpet into the boot of the car. While this isn't something that the Jaguar design team anticipated when they developed the car we can confirm that the boot is perfectly sized for the purpose, although we hope no customers will put this to the test.

The Jaguar XJ6 Series 1, 2 and 3 is one of the most enduring and popular cars that Jaguar has ever made. Launched in 1968 and in production until 1992 the Jaguar XJ6 established a design style for Jaguar that remained in use until the launch of the current Jaguar XJ. The car was designed to resemble a coupe but with four doors and is arguably one of the most beautiful and fully resolved saloon cars ever made. Despite the cars undeniable good looks and high standard of fittings - including a walnut dashboard - like many previous Jaguars the XJ6 suffered a mixed reputation due to unreliability and overselling. Like the Jaguar Mk2 before it, when new the Jaguar XJ6 proved popular with aspiring people on both sides of the law thanks to its upmarket image cut with a dash of panache. The image of the second hand Jaguar XJ6 was epitomised by Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder. While the Jaguar XJ6 still retains an image of faded glamour it is fast becoming recognised for its style and engineering excellence. Alongside its elegant looks this is probably one of the best riding cars ever made.

Great Escape Classic Car Hire provides cars for TV, film and advertising projects on a weekly basis. To find out more visit our TV, Film and Advertising home page. Or call 01527 893733.