Editing Jaguar XJS (section)

== Pre-HE (1975–1981) ==
{{Infobox automobile
| name = XJ-S (Pre H.E.)
| image = Jaguar XJS registered January 1978 5343cc.JPG
| production = 1975–1981 <br> 14,800 built<ref>All production figures according to: Brian Long: ''Jaguar XJ-S''. Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 2004, {{ISBN|1-904788-20-3}}, p. 189. ''Note: figures are for calendar years and may slightly differ from actual totals for the various models''.</ref>
| body_style = 2-door [[coupé]]
| engine = 5.3&nbsp;L [[Jaguar V12 engine|''Jaguar'' V12]]
| length = {{convert|191.72|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=Autocar1977>{{cite magazine|title= Jaguar XJ-S automatic| series = 146|magazine=[[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] | volume =  (nbr 4203)| pages =38–42 |date = 28 May 1977}}</ref>
| width = {{convert|70.6|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=Autocar1977/>
| wheelbase = {{convert|102|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=Autocar1977/>
| height = {{convert|50|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=Autocar1977/>
| transmission = 4-speed manual <br> 3-speed [[BorgWarner|''BorgWarner'']] automatic <br> 3-speed [[Turbo-Hydramatic|''GM TH400'']] automatic
}}
The XJ-S was introduced on 10 September 1975.<ref>[http://www.classic-xjs-sales.co.uk/pages/history.htm ''XJS History'', www.classic-xjs-sales.co.uk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112044856/http://classic-xjs-sales.co.uk/pages/history.htm |date=12 January 2016 }} Retrieved 29 August 2015</ref> The design and development had begun in the late 1960s by the code name of project XJ27, with an initial shape penned by Malcolm Sayer, but after his death in 1970 it was completed by the in-house Jaguar design team, headed by Doug Thorpe. The design was radical for the time, with long overhangs and the 'flying buttresses' that swept down the rear of the roofline. A common misconception of these design details is that they were a leftover from a potential mid-engine layout, with the black plastic vents behind the rear windows being functional to that design. While a mid-engine layout was considered, it never made it past initial brainstorming. The buttresses were always meant to be merely a styling feature that improved aerodynamics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Keith |date=2013-11-27 |title=Jaguar XJ-S development history |url=https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/jaguar/xj-s/jaguar-xj-s/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=AROnline |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Adams |first=Keith |date=2015-08-01 |title=Concepts and Prototypes : Jaguar XJ-S |url=https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/jaguar/xj-s/concepts-and-prototypes-jaguar-xj-s/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=AROnline |language=en-GB}}</ref> 

Power came from the [[Jaguar V12 engine]] with a choice of a [[manual transmission|manual]] or an [[automatic transmission]], but the manual was soon dropped as they were left over from V12 [[Jaguar E Type|E Type]] production. V12 powered production automobiles were unusual at the time; Italian luxury sports car makers [[Lamborghini]] and [[Ferrari]] produced such models. The specifications of the XJ-S compared well with both Italian cars; it was able to accelerate to {{convert|60|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on|order=flip}} in 7.6 seconds (automatic models) and had a top speed of {{convert|143|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.performance-car-guide.co.uk/jaguar-xjs.html|title=Performance Car Guide}}</ref> The first series of XJ-S cars had a [[BorgWarner]] Model 12 transmission with a cast-iron case and a bolt-on bell-housing. In 1977, General Motors' [[Turbo-Hydramatic|Turbo-Hydramatic 400]] transmissions were fitted.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Osborne|first=Donald|title=GT Sleepers for Monterey Week|journal=[[Sports Car Market]]|date=September 2012|volume=24|issue=9|pages=44–45|issn=1527-859X}}</ref> The TH400 transmission was an all-aluminium alloy case with an integrated non-detachable bell-housing. The XJ-S was originally supplied with [[Dunlop Tyres|Dunlop]] SP Super E205/70VR15 tyres on 6K alloy wheels; British police upgraded their Jaguars to a higher-performance 205/70VR15 [[Michelin]] XWX tyres.<ref>Paul Skilleter, ''Jaguar Sports Cars'', pp.323 {{ISBN|0-85429-166-0}}.</ref> At the end of the 1970s Jaguar started to fit the 205/70VR15 Pirelli P5. The Pirelli P5 was the tyre that Jaguar had asked Pirelli to produce to improve their luxury cars. European and Canadian spec XJ-S models were fitted with two molded headlights, while models for the US (until 1992) were fitted with four round sealed beam lights due to legislation. 

Jaguar launched the XJ-S in the wake of a fuel crisis, when the market for a 5.3-litre V12 grand tourer was small. The XJ-S was a radical departure from the E-Type it replaced, having shifted from being a sports car to a GT and losing the option of a convertible roof. The buttresses behind the windows were criticised at the time as German authorities feared these would restrict rearward vision, and refused to give type approval to the XJ-S (and to the similarly designed [[Lancia Montecarlo]]) – requiring German XJ-S buyers to obtain road approval for each individual car upon registration.<ref name="Autocar197602">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] |number = 4138 | volume =144 |title =News: Jaguar rear view problems in Germany| page = 39 | date = 28 February 1976}}</ref> Sales remained stubbornly low, and production was halted for half of 1981, to allow unsold stock to be moved.<ref name="TV1291.6">{{cite magazine | ref = AS91 | title = Katt med kultur | trans-title = Cultured cat | language = sv | magazine = [[Teknikens Värld]] | publisher = Specialtidningsförlaget AB | location = Stockholm, Sweden | pages = 6–7 | date = 1991-06-13 | issue = 12 | volume = 43 | first = Alrik | last = Söderlind }}</ref> Because of the slow sales, Leyland Cars had decided to discontinue the car but decided to give it another chance with a light facelift and engine revisions.<ref name="TV1291.6" />

Italian styling house [[Pininfarina]] introduced a 1978 concept car based on the XJ-S, called the Jaguar XJSpider;<ref>{{Harvnb|Long|2004|p=73}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/classic-concepts-1978-jaguar-xj-spider-pininfarina|title=Classic Concepts: 1978 Jaguar XJ Spider by Pininfarina|first= Joe | last = Breeze|date=2012-02-03|publisher=Classic Driver}}</ref> which did not see production.

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