2023-05-11 17:01:03 | pauls writes:

Car at auction 5/23

themarket.bonhams.com/en/listings/jaguar/xjs-40-celebration/a5297411-8739-4554-a ...

Auction description:

Seller Cadbury

Location: The Market HQ, Abingdon, United Kingdom

Seller Type: Private

Odometer Reading: 29500

Chassis Number: Tbc

Engine: 4000

Gearbox: Auto

Steering position: Right-hand drive

Colour: Flamenco Red

Interior: Magnolia

Estimated Price: £24,000 - £28,000

This Jaguar XJS 4.0 Celebration with a 4-speed ZF automatic transmission was first registered in March 1996 and supplied by Lancaster Jaguar of Sevenoaks, Kent to its one and only owner - the vendor’s mother.

Her husband, the vendor’s late father, always liked the Jaguar XJ-S and when the model went out of production, he bought the last ever XJS that Lancaster Sevenoaks sold brand-new.

He and his wife took the car touring in Europe early on in their ownership but after an encounter on an Autobahn, his head was turned by a BMW 5 Series and one of those became his daily drive.

In the last decade or so, the son has been the main driver of the car - although it is still registered to his mother - and initially thought he’d keep it forever out of sentimentality. Over the last few years, though, he’s flirted with the idea of selling but never took the plunge.

Now, with a Porsche 911 (964) and Maserati MC Stradale competing for his attention, the XJS is rather in the way.

On the Outside

The exterior of the car is painted in Jaguar’s Flamenco Red, a light burgundy colour that is bright enough to put on a bit of a show but sober enough to do it with class.

If Craig Revel Horwood were to describe the exterior of this car, he would probably use just three words: FAB U LOUS! Strictly speaking there are some small age-related marks and imperfections, there always are even on the best of cars, but this is an exceptional looking Jaguar.

The paint is strong, shut lines and panel gaps straight and true, and as far as we can see there is no damage to the bodywork. The chrome is very good too, well polished with next to no patina. The fact that it has been kept garaged since new has certainly been beneficial.

A nice feature is that the car still sports the original window stickers and tax disc holder from the supplying dealer - Lancaster Jaguar of Sevenoaks. There is also a Swiss motorway and parking vignette in the upper windscreen from 1997, indicating that the car did some grand touring early on in its life.

The Jaguar sits on its special Celebration 16-inch diamond-turned alloy wheels, which also present in a very good condition and are shod with matching Pirelli P6000 tyres. Although the rubber hasn’t turned many miles and appears in good condition with legal tread depth, the tyres are now over 20 years old.

On the Inside

If the outside has set high expectations, then the interior will not disappoint. It is trimmed in magnolia or cream leather with brown piping and plenty of wood. The walnut veneer extends right across the dashboard and centre console and is picked up again as inserts on the door cards and rear side panels.

The steering wheel is also wooden-rimmed and the gear shift knob is in timber too. The dials and gauges look clear and easy to read, but the rev counter is temperamental and works only intermittently. The air conditioning, however, is full of gas and works very well - as does everything else, according to the vendor.

The leather upholstery looks immaculate. Unsurprisingly the rear seats look barely sat in but even the fronts show very little in the way of creasing or patina. Possibly the driver’s seat has been re-connolised at some point but if so, it has been done very well.

The brown carpets and overmats throughout look in good condition, with just the additional wear that you’d clean and taut.

Underneath

Under the front-hinged bonnet, the engine bay is neat, clean and somewhat reminiscent of the early E Types with a beefy straight-six engine rather than the untidy-looking V12. The only things missing compared to the sixties cars are the triple SU carburettors. The 4.0-litre fuel-injected AJ6 engine is capable of delivering 245 bhp and 392 Nm of torque.

The undersides of the car look like they have been properly Waxoyled recently, with a good coating across most of the structures and surfaces - leaving the suspension and steering components untouched. There are some scuffs underneath the front spoiler, luckily not visible unless you’re under the car, no doubt thanks to the motorist’s arch-enemy, the speed bump.

The grey boot linings and carpet are in a good, clean condition. The full size spare alloy wheel is mounted behind a cover against the rear bulkhead, alongside the similarly hidden battery - which is new. Also present is a jack and wheel brace in a sleeve that matches the boot lining. There are a few spare parts and some rubber floor mats stowed in the boot.

2023-09-16 14:12:48 | pauls writes:

Car returns to auction 9/23

www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-362---1996-jaguar-xj-s-celebration/

Auction description:

20th Sep, 2023, 30th Anniversary Sale at The Imperial War Museum | Duxford, Cambridgeshire

Lot 362

1996 Jaguar XJ-S Celebration

29,574 miles and 1 former keeper

Estimate £14,000 - £18,000

Registration No: N458 AKP

Chassis No: SAJJNAED3EJ225166

MOT: February 2024

Desirable 'Celebration' final year model finished in Carnival Red with Cream leather interior

Just 29,574 miles on the odometer believed correct, with 1 former keeper

MOT history with only 2 years showing advisories since 2005

First registered on March 1st 1996, via Lancaster Jaguar of Sevenoaks, Kent, this Celebration model is finished in Carnival Red with a contrasting Cream leather interior. Showing just 29,574 miles on the odometer, the car was purchased by the vendor from the family of its one and only former keeper. The story, as it goes, is that the previous owner and his wife took the car touring in Europe early in their ownership, but after an encounter on an Autobahn, his head was turned by a BMW 5 Series, with one becoming his daily driver. In the last decade or so, the son became the main driver (although, the Jaguar was still registered in his mother's name). The plan was never to sell the car due to sentimental value, but with a Porsche 964 and a Maserati MC Stradale competing for his attention, the XJ-S was 'rather in the way'. Presenting a great opportunity for a collector or enthusiast looking for a low mileage example, 'N458 AKP' was purchased by the vendor, a Jaguar collector in May of this year. Also with the intention to keep indefinitely, the car is now offered for sale along with two others from the collection to fund a larger purchase. 'N458 AKP' has an MOT valid until February 14th 2024, with ‘no advisories’, and it's worth noting that since 2005, there have only been 2 years where there have been advisories on the previous MOTs. Unfortunately, the previous keeper lost the history file, but the V5C document is included which displays 1 former keeper.