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The delay in fitting the V12 engine was due to the design of the engine bay which was too narrow to allow a V formation engine, said to have been
designed deliberately in that fashion as the designers feared that their parent company would insist use of an engine based on their widely-used
Rover V8 engine. After Jaguar's takeover by Ford in December 1989, work began on redesigning the engine bay to accommodate the V12. Ironically,
thanks to Ford, Jaguar was later to find itself back in common ownership with another part of the old Rover family: Land Rover, where they had
previously been thanks to British Leyland. However, having since developed their own more modern V8, they saw the reverse happen with a version of
their engine fitted to Land Rover models, from which the old Rover V8 was finally dropped.
The single cam 2.9 L straight-6 engine found in Europe was a derivative of Jaguar's legendary 6.0 L V12 HE, but it proved to be underpowered and
thirsty compared to the 3.6. L Frequent timing chain failures were also a problem. The engine was later replaced by the 3.2 L, based on the
3.6 L, which then became the 4.0 L.
XJ40 (1989-1994)
In 1989, under Ford control, the model range was revised with the deletion of the 2.9 L engine, replaced at the low end by a twin-cam 3.2 L version.
The 3.6 L was upgraded to 4.0 L. The most obvious interior improvement was replacement of the often unreliable digital dashboard with conventional
analogue instruments. In 1994 the XJ6 received a passenger's side airbag which meant the loss of the in-dash glove box.
In 1989 and 1990 Jaguar Cars produced a special model of the XJ40 called the Majestic. All of these had maroon exteriors with special mesh wheels
where the interior of the mesh was painted the same maroon color as the exterior of the body, although the British prime minister had an armoured
black ministerial Majestic. Inside there were autolux leather seats with contrasting piping along the edges. There may have only been 527 of the
1990 Majestics made.
XJ81 (1993-1994)
With the design alteration of the XJ40 engine compartment finally completed, the XJ81 or XJ12 saloon reached the market in 1993 and continued until
the end of the 1994 model year. The 1993 - 1994 XJ12 cars marked the introduction of the 6.0L V12 and four speed automatic transmission in the
four door saloon.
The new four speed automatic transmission in these cars was based on the GM 4L80E and featured an overdrive fourth gear for extended cruising comfort.
The 1993 XJ12 cars that entered the United States were titled as 1994 cars. The primary differentiation between these early 1994 cars and the later
1994 cars is the presence of a in-dash glove box in the early cars that was replaced by a passenger's side airbag in the later 1994 cars.
The V12 cars also had a latice or BBS style wheel and body coloured grille vanes. XJ-R versions of the XJ40 were produced; they featured upgraded
suspension, engine and appearance, but lacked the supercharger of later XJRs. With numbers somewhere in the hundreds, they are quite rare and
difficult to find.
X-300 (1995-1997)
With an all-new replacement still years away, in the early 1990s Jaguar recognised the boxy 80's lines of the XJ40 needed to be facelifted and
decided a "retro" path was the way forward. This path worked as Jaguar's biggest markets, the Americans, the Germans and the Japanese all associate
Jaguars with sleek, voluptuous and taut feline curves. This revamp reintroduced many styling cues of the popular original XJ series. The X300, as it
was known, was based on the XJ81 chassis, designed by chief Jaguar designer Geoff Lawson and was launched as the XJ6 for the 1995 model year.
In addition, a 326 bhp (243 kW) supercharged version of the straight-6 was offered and badged as the XJR. This was the first supercharged Jaguar in
the company's history and only the second car Jaguar ever made that used forced induction – the other being the extremely rare and expensive
turbocharged Jaguar XJ220 sports car.
The centre section (namely the doors and glass area) was shared with the original "Mark 2" (XJ40/XJ81) but the X300 saw the XJ6 revert to a
traditional fluted bonnet and 4 individual headlights. The front and rear wings, bumpers and bootlid were also redesigned. The interior remained
more or less the same as before. The engines were basically the same 3.2 L and 4.0 L units (engine code AJ6) found in the XJ40, but were mildly
revised to further increase power and refinement (engine code AJ16). It was this generation that saw continued improvement in build quality.
1997 was the final year of production for the XJ6. Jaguar switched exclusively to an all-new V8 engine when the XJ8 (engine code AJ26) was
introduced at the end of 1997 which fitted perfectly in the XJ81 chassis.
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This car was finally released in October 1986 with (in European markets) controversial square headlamps on all but the lowest specification; these
were a lingering feature from the 1970s development. The car was considered more evolutionary than revolutionary,[citation needed] and had to fight
off a new competitor: the recently enlarged BMW 7 Series (E32). While the British press favoured the Jaguar, the XJ40 tended to lose comparison
tests run by German publications. Only six-cylinder models were initially offered: a 2.9 L (in Europe) and a 3.6 L. The V12 (XJ12) and a long
wheelbase model, including a high-roofed Daimler Majestic model (reviving the model name of 1958-1962) and destined for official use (one was used
by the British prime minister), were again delayed, being launched at the very end of the XJ40's life.
