| An 8,378-car run of 2-door XJ coupés
with a pillarless hardtop body called the XJ-C was built between
1975 and 1978. The car was actually launched at the London Motor
Show in October 1973,[4] but it subsequently became clear that
it was not ready for production, and the economic troubles unfolding
in the western world at this time seem to have reduced further
any sense of urgency about producing and selling the cars: it
was reported that problems with window sealing delayed production.
XJ coupés finally started to emerge from Jaguar show-rooms
only some two years later. The coupé was based on the short
wheelbase version of the XJ. The coupé's elongated doors
were made out of a lengthened standard XJ front door (the weld
seams are clearly visible under the interior panels where two
front door shells were grafted together with a single outer skin).
A few XJ-Cs were modified by Avon into convertibles with a retractable
canvas top, but this was not a factory product. Both six and twelve-cylinder
models were offered, 6,505 of the former and 1,873 of the latter.
Even with the delay, these cars suffered from water leaks and
wind noise. The delayed introduction, the labour-intensive work
required by the modified saloon body, the higher price than the
four door car, and the early demise promulgated by the new XJ-S,
all ensured a small production run.
All coupes came with a vinyl roof as standard. It has been
speculated that this is due to the rough welds around the windows
of the roof, however many owners have removed these roofs and
found no such rough welds.[citation needed] Other explanations
point out that all V12 Jaguars received vinyl roofs at this
time to signify the introduction of fuel injection, but this
does not explain the vinyl roof on the 6 cylinder cars. Today
many XJ-Cs no longer have their vinyl roof, also removing the
threat of roof rust.
A small number of Daimler versions of the XJ-C were made.
This a 1977 Jaguar XJ12 Coupe Automatic, royal bleu, with tan
interior, nice Beverly Hills car, that has been build up new
completely at Noble House Almere Netherlands with no expenses
spared !
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