The 1990 Jaguar XJS drop-top was a classic that still earns its place among the car enthusiast today and was one of the longest running models ever built by Jaguar.

Jaguar introduced an all-new and exciting style of two door sports coupe in 1975 and it caught the eye of lots of new fans. The 60’s were very good to the Jaguar brand, bringing us some of the most iconic cars ever built. Most Jaguar enthusiast were puzzled by the XJ badge and thought that after the iconic E-Type, they would introduce the F-Type. Jaguar purists also worried that the sports car era might be over and that they would be stuck with this grand tour model. To make things even more troubling, news hit the streets that the XJS would only be available in a coupe model. Luckily this would not always be the case.

The XJS line was built from 1975 to 1996 and it replaced the XKE lineup (known as the E-Type) and was built to be more sleek and aerodynamic than the E-Type coupes. The XJ line also utilized the Jaguar independent rear suspension that had worked so well in the E-Type.

The prestigious V12 engine was carried over to the XJS line and offered a fine balance of power and performance and did so with such a silky smooth fashion; mostly found in the higher end luxury automobiles. During this time the V12 engine was a rarity except in the Italian cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini. The XJS was capable of a zero to 60 mph time of 7.6 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph. The 5.3 liter, 9:1 compression engine developed an impressive 285 horsepower at 5500 rpm and more than 300 lb. ft. of torque at only 3500 rpm.

By 1990 the Jaguar XJS has been re-engineered with a slight facelift and another classic Jaguar was born. It is also amazing that 30 years later you still see many of the XJS’s on the roads today. It is however, Jaguar’s longest running model and is still a very popular vehicle with Jaguar fans today.