I came across the following part, and noticed I don't have it on my 97 XJR.

The part is a "catalyst grass (heat) shield", part number "CBC7826 - CATALYST GRASS SHIELD", part 14 on the diagram below.

Does anyone have this part on their USA spec XJR? A photo of the underside of my car shows it not present, and I haven't seen it on other X300s up to this point.

 

I don't recall one on my XJR.

Not that I've actually researched it, but all of the unusual 'exhaust heat' related goodies I've seen for various models seem to be for Japan market cars.

Cheers
DD

 

I believe that is a Japan only part. There is a requirement in Japan for temperature monitoring of the exhaust, so if the car is parked on a grassy field it won't start a fire.

I have a Japanese market Daimler and it had a "catalyst overtemp" warning light with a thermocouple in the exhaust system.

 

My xjr is ex Japan. It does not have the lower shield.
It does have the cat temp thermocouples. These are fitted near the lower O2 sensors.