Feature Cars

Jaguar X300 – Starter Classics $15K or less

The design harked back to the glorious XJ6 of the 1970s

Moving forward for Jaguar’s X300 design meant looking 25 years into the past and at the company’s ground-breaking XJ6.

Gone when the X300 arrived were the sharp edges and oblong structures that characterised the XJ40 and back came hooded headlights, slim roof pillars and prominent wheel arches.

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Under the bonnet sat 3.2 and 4.0-litre versions of Jaguar’s final inline six-cylinder engine, with mandatory automatic transmission.

Inside was a cabin brimming with traditional leather and timber trimmings and even the boot was too beautiful to use. In XJ6 tradition, these cars are supremely comfortable, with complex suspensions to mask almost any road defect.

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Weird looking J-gate auto, wasn’t easy to use

They do cost a bomb when everything wears out at once though. Jaguar’s AJ16 engines were blissfully reliable, avoiding the timing gear issues that would plague early versions of the later V8. Engine electronics and fuel system faults are more likely sources of X300 problems than the engines themselves.

Spare parts remain available, although rarely cheap.

 

From Unique Cars #472, Nov/Dec 2022

 

Photography: Unique Cars Archives

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