Thanks for this great link - was a pleasure to read - reminded me why I own Jaguar - The first one I ever saw was a 1968 BRG XJ while walking to my grandmothers house. I was hooked right then.

Mike

 

Yes it is one of the few for specific reasons...

- As with all great things, they are usually 1 person's vision with the help of a supporting team. The XJ was the culmination of Sir William Lyons entire career. Same dynamic with Elon Musk and Tesla. Conversely, most other modern vehicles are designed by a committee or by a panel of "experts" with a set requirements that need to satisfy a broad audience or segment.
Modern vehicles need to compete on metrics like cargo space, head room, part sharing and cost. After driving so many XJ's and their derivatives like the XJS and DB7, I can feel it was developed by humans with trial and error in order to be a mechanical extension of a the person. Almost a comfortable wheeled metal suit. These are things that just can not be quantified, so modern production processes cant account or value them.

- The few safety, efficiency and emissions regulation of the time allowed for much more creative license and design choices.

- The XJ has a classic and elegant design that was pleasing to the eye then and is even more pleasing today. Modern cars with all their extraneous lines and GeeWiz dashboards have to compete for the gold fish like attention spans of modern tech addicted humans.

The XJ platform is pure genius and was in production with the same basic form from 1968 to 2004. 36 years for a platform will NEVER happen again.

There are 2 other Saloons I would put in this category. The Mercedes W126 and BMW E32 but neither is as iconic or as emotionally involving as the car that inspired them, the XJ sedan.