I had been scanning Craigslist and fleabay for a while before picking up my '88 XJ12 from Canada. I see some S1 and S2 XJ12s in the US, and some XJ40 cars with V12, and plenty of XJ6 cars.

So how many S3 XJ12 cars came to the US and why is the number so low? After all the XJS in V12 form continued to sell here in the US during that time

 

Only a tiny handful of Ser III V12s were officially brought into the USA. Something like 6 were sold....way back in 1979/1980 when the Ser III was first introduced. Jaguar almost immediately pulled the plug due to CAFE standards....Corporate Average Fuel Economy.

The remainder of that initial shipment (60 cars or something?) was subsequently sent to Canada.

There an article about these cars in the current JCNA "Jaguar Journal" magazine. I just took a very quick peek but it looks very informative.

Anyhow....

Over the years some Ser III V12s have migrated into the USA mostly from Canada and Germany. Mine came from Canada, via Oregon.

Cheers
DD

 

Thanks Doug. Here's the total number produced, the Double Six VP seems to be a rare species