So i have been looking at XJ40's as a bit of a swan song to 'older' Jaguar ownership - Before i leave the UK for Australia in 7 months time.

Initially i thought i would primarily look at 1993 4.0 cars (Ideally in Sovereign spec) but i saw this....

Jaguar TWR XJR40 For Sale (1989) on Car And Classic UK [C508291]

And thought it was worth viewing.

Having viewed the car today i have mixed feelings really.

It has some really good points..... The Interior is in great shape (even has a new headliner) and the carpets and foot wells are all dry. All the electrics appeared to work without issue.
Matching Pirelli P6000 tyres all round and the wheels were good enough to not warrant refurbishment. Bodywork generally in good condition and the car has indeed received some attention in the past to rectify corrosion.

Some not so good points.... There is still some minor corrosion (all feeling solid from the outside of the car) but, you just never know if this surface corrosion is the tip of the iceberg and the corrosion spots are at the base of the rear screen and the bottom of the rear wheel arch - where it meets the sill. There are also some little scabs on the bonnet (I think from where the struts are fixed to the bonnet?

To be fair..... nothing was trying to be hidden, but the car has had a lot of paint and as a result there are areas of slightly oxidized or mismatching red as well as lacquer peel on the body-kit, next to lovely bright fresh paint. Plus a crack on the front valance and a very small area of fibreglass needing attention on the rear bumper.
Don't get me wrong the car looks fantastic from 6ft away. But it certainly isn't as together as the the pictures had me hoping it would be - again to be fair to the owner he informed me there were some minor areas needing attention before i went to view the car.

But my biggest concern is related to the mechanicals - Again the owner informed me there was a slight issue with the steering rack and the car really would benefit from a good service.
And when i first started driving the car it felt really nice and tight, the power steering definitely felt heavier than a normal XJ40. But i didn't know how much of that was down to the car having the (model specific) re-calibrated power steering rack? HOWEVER the issue seemed to present itself about 10mins into the test drive, when it would suddenly start making some really loud grinding/moaning noises when turning at a junction or back into the owners driveway. Also by this point (again, about 10mins into the test drive) a misfire had presented itself that was clearly evident at idle, but couldn't be detected under light/heavy throttle.

I do really like the car - Its a very charming and charismatic car. And i would be happy to address the issues (providing the mechanical faults are not to expensive) but i just don't know if i can justify spending a £1000 more on an XJR that needs work, over the price of a lovely 1993 4.0 Sovereign that needs nothing at all doing to it.

 

Hi Richard,

The TWR XJR40s are rare cars, which is cool, but come with the downside that the TWR-specific parts are no longer available and from what I've read on the forums, salvaged parts are just as rare as the cars.

Mechanically, I don't know whether an '89 U.K. spec TWR will have the 3.6L or 4.0L engine, or whether it will have the earlier 2.88:1 tall differential gearing or the later 3.58:1 gearing that gave the cars better acceleration at the expense of the engine running 500 rpm faster in top gear (slightly more noise and slightly lower fuel economy while cruising, but neither is significant).

In the photos, I can't see any evidence of a supercharger as on the Jaguar factory XJR cars, and I don't know what engine mods TWR may have done on their versions, so that would merit some research. If TWR used any proprietary mechanical parts in the engine, you could have trouble sourcing parts for regular maintenance and repairs.

We've owned an '88 U.S. spec Sovereign and still own a '93 Vanden Plas (equivalent to a U.K. Daimler), and, all other things being equal, I would personally recommend the '93 over a pre-'90 car for these specific reasons:

1. More comfortable & more fully adjustable seats (at least in our VDP)
2. Slightly more powerful 4.0L engine
3. Noticeably better acceleration and response due to slightly greater torque and shorter diff gearing
4. Electronic ZF transmission offers Sport mode and 1st gear lockout options; the first is useful if you enjoy driving curvy backroads, the second is useful on wet or icy roads
5. The later analog dash is generally more reliable than the earlier vacuum flourescent display.

However, that TWR is really sharp and if you like the way it drives and your research indicates that none of the TWR-specific parts is mechanically essential, at the right price it might be very tempting!

Please keep us informed!

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks, the car is a 4.0litre car with the JaguarSport inlet manifold, high lift camshaft and ECU. Other JaguarSport features (apart from the cosmetics) were limited to a LSD and Suspension.

The steering rack could be changed for a regular XJ40 one, but the XJR's do have specific valving for a heavier steering feel.

The XJ40 TWR/JaguarSport cars were not fitted with a supercharger.