G-Benz: you will remember that your Jag was fitted with a 3-speed GM slush box (strange, given that even then, Jag was owned by the General's arcg-rival, uncle Henry). The old 6.0 litre V-12 (or the 5.3 for that matter) had so much torque that a gearbox should have been an optional extra.

Sure, for all out punch it wasn't competing (7.3 secs to 60 if memory serves) but for smoothness and refinement, the Jag, despite its 20 year old technology (now 30 yr old) was better than anything that went before or since). I remember Georg Kacher, German auto journalist, prefering the Jag soft top over the 600SL simply because it was the more refined, and hence luxe, sports tourer.

All that said, I passed a copule of XJ-Ss in driving rain and otherwise foul conditions on the M62 today (the UK's highest motorway at 1,112 feet(!!!)) and I was glad I wasn't driving one myself. G-Benz, you will have seen under the bonnet, and that engine truly was "the plumber's nightmare". But the car had charm in abundance.

__________________
JJ Rodger
2013 G350 Bluetec
1999 SL 500
1993 E300 diesel T
1990 190