Should This 1976 Jaguar XJ-S Stay in the Junkyard?

By Adam Pockross - October 14, 2016

1976-jaguar-xj-s

Nothing gold can stay, Robert Frost and Pony Boy Curtis taught us. And this 1976 Jaguar XJ-S is another crumbling reminder of that. Although it’s hard to say if gold was the original color, before rust and dust took over.

This XJ-S was recently found in a Denver self-service yard by Murilee Martin while working on another “Junkyard Treasure” piece for AutoWeek. And like always, it shows the aftermath of a once great automobile that has certainly seen its better days.

This XJ-S’s better days were, as many of you know, pretty stupendous, aside from some electrical reliability issues and spotty build quality. 1976 was the first generation of the XJ-S, and the car featured a 326-cubic-inch V12, Lucas fuel injection, 244 horsepower, and a cast-iron BorgWarner automatic. This one now features a striking similarity to something Mad Max might try and siphon gas from.

But, as you can see in Martin’s photos, some of which are shown below, there’s still a beauty to the fading legend. Obviously the perfect shape is still mostly in tact, but it’s more than that. It’s the fact that 40 years later, we still look at it, even in this sad state, as something that stood proudly above the rest, while reminding us that it’s okay to fall, because nothing gold can stay.