CLASSIC DRIVE
Its smaller engine and cloth seats might make this XJ6 the antithesis of most large Jaguar saloons, but as we discover it’s still a fine performer
THANKS TO the traditionally luxurious interior and 3.4-litre XK engine of the 1950 MkVII, Jaguar’s large saloons soon earned a reputation for being both powerful and comfortable. And although their design and technology would change considerably over the next 30 years, this reputation didn’t. Even in 1979 Jaguar’s new flagship, the XJ Series 3, remained largely true to its richly appointed predecessors. As a brochure for the car from the time says, “Leather upholstery, the mark of utter luxury.”
Yet not every example of the Series 3 can be described as such since a tiny handful could even be called basic.
Once Jaguar had consolidated its complicated range of saloons in the late 1960s, reducing the 240/340, S-Type, 420 and 420G to just one model – the XJ6 – it meant the new car had to meet every demand. And so from the outset as well as the 4.2-litre version of the XK straight six there was also a cheaper 2.8-litre model.
Although it produced 180bhp, the car’s performance was still gutless, taking almost 13 seconds to reach 60mph. It was probably this, together with a well-earned reputation for piston failure which explains why after over 13,000 of the 2.8-litres had been produced the engine was quietly dropped a short time before the original XJ6 gave way to the Series 2 facelift in 1973.
But Jaguar’s management always understood the importance of a smallerengined XJ6 since it would expand both the car and the company’s range. And so in 1975 it reintroduced a familiar sized version of the XK unit, the 3.4-litre which had first seen in 1948 and discontinued
20 years later. But although Jaguar used the same 83 x 106mm bore and stroke as the original, it was in the strengthened and improved version of the 4.2’s block.
Together with twin SU HS8 carburettors, this new 3.4-litre produced 160bhp (DIN), which was in fact more than the older 340 engine which was quoted using the less accurate SAE standard. It was available with either a three-speed automatic or a four-speed manual transmission.
When the XJ was refreshed for its third and final time in 1979, the 3.4 was carried over. But whereas the 4.2-litre now had fuel injection which saw its power increase from 170 to 205bhp, the 3.4 stuck with the carbs, meaning its output remained the same at 160bhp.
Although good enough for the mid-1970s, this lack of progress saw the XJ6 3.4 quickly fall behind the competition.
This was Car magazine’s judgement in its May 1983 issue when it compared an XJ6 3.4 with a Mercedes Benz 280SE whose 2.8-li
