Guide price: £30000 - £35000. <ul><li>Number 14 of 385 fitted with manual gearboxes</li><li>British Racing Green with black trim is in remarkably original condition</li><li>In Jersey for most of its life, the speedometer shows 32,000 miles  </li><li>Early production styling cues; One driver’s door mirror, cassette/radio and signature GKN Kent alloys </li><li>It comes complete with all manuals, original sale brochure and full MOT till July 2019.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Jaguar XJ-S was launched on 10 September 1975 as the replacement for the much-loved E-Type. The development of the car had begun in the late 1960s as project XJ27, with an initial design by Malcolm Sayer, but after his death in 1970, it was completed by the in-house Jaguar design team, headed by Doug Thorpe. Power came from the Jaguar V12 initially with a choice of a manual or automatic transmission, but the manual was soon dropped as they were left over from V12 E-Type production and they ran out of stock. </p><p>There was a considerable delay in finalising the XJ-S design as, although everyone on the design team was happy with the front and middle of the car, the problem was the back. Sir William Lyons was notorious for micro-managing the design details of his beloved Jaguars and no matter how many different approaches and designs were suggested by the drawing office, the 'Old Man' didn't like any of them.</p><p>One evening Stan Keyworth, a Production Director in the company, and the man responsible for reaching the decision that the E-Type could simply never be built to the new American safety regulations received a late afternoon phone call from Sir William. He wanted to know 'what was selling' and 'whose cars had captured the public imagination'. Stan felt that the 246GT Dino was top of the pops at the time and Sir William requested that he wanted a good look at one. So Stanley managed to scrounge a Dino from a Ferrari dealer friend and duly delivered it to Wappenbury Hall where it was parked outside the drawing-room window. Apparently, Stan remained in the kitchen eating sandwiches for several hours whilst Sir William stared out of the window with his sketchpad. If you have ever wondered where those distinctive 'flying buttress' features at the back of the early XJS came from, have a look at a Dino.</p><p>The early XJS offered here is probably as close to those famous sketches as you are likely to get. It's the fourteenth off the line of only 385 XJS V12s fitted with manual gearboxes. Originally built on the 10th September, which coincidentally was the public launch day of the XJS, it was despatched to Mann Egerton Jaguar in Leigh-on-Sea Essex on November the 4th. It's a UK, right-hand drive car finished in British Racing Green with black trim and is in remarkably original condition. As a really early car, it epitomises the truest form of these stylish coupes with an array of early production styling cues. Including a single door mirror, elegant steering wheel, cassette/radio, and signature GKN Kent alloys. </p><p>Having resided in Jersey for most of its life and been enjoyed by just three owners, the speedometer shows 32,000 miles which judging by the car's overall condition and the size of Jersey, could well be correct. The Jaguar has been subject to considerable recent expenditure to maintain it mechanically with suspension work, brakes, wheel refurbishment, and a set of five original equipment Dunlop Sport Aquajets all totalling £5,700. It has recently completed a European road trip and accomplished that with aplomb. The car comes complete with is V5, older Mots, all its manuals, an original Sales Brochure, and an MoT valid until July 2019.</p><p>Finally, after years of false dawns and confusing values, the XJ-S market appears to be firming nicely. There is strong evidence that quality low-mileage cars, anything a bit unusual, and particularly unsullied early cars, are now in demand.  With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to see why early models become so much more desirable, simple, pure, unadorned by options and increasing weight, and so much closer to what the designer had in mind. To quote my learned colleague, Quentin Willson, ”It's the pre-HE cars that I reckon have the greatest long-term potential. Launch year '75s are the purest and rarest with their Kent alloys, Seventies colours, and unadorned bodies. Find an ultra-rare V12 manual (only 300-odd were built) and you'll have a Jag coupé that's actually more exclusive than a 1961, flat-floor, outside bonnet lock E-Type. Already I'm seeing signs that early cars are attracting strong attention and selling quickly, so don't hang about the 1975-77 XJ-S is definitely the one to buy right now”.</p><p>You heard it here first!</p><p> </p><p> </p>