1969: Code Name XJ27

February 

By February 1969, the internal code name XJ27 was being used but the decision on the body style was still to be made. The two principal designers Malcolm Sayer and Doug Thorpe were producing their concepts for the body, Malcolm Sayer’s body was fitted to a base unit and Doug Thorpe’s body design was still under development but well on its way. A mock-up of the internal layout and features was being built.

September 

On 8 September 1969 a discussion took place to understand the legal requirements for the height and function of the bumpers. Doug Thorpe asked Oliver Winterbottom to model an alternative styling study for an open top version should be made in parallel with that of the closed version. By the time October came around, both body mock-ups had been reviewed by the management but no final decision had been made. Malcolm Sayer’s one-eighth scale model had been completed and the results from the wind tunnel tests looked encouraging. The designers started to strip an XJ6 in preparation for the mock-up where the front end on prototype number 4 was modified. Although this full-scale model depicted what the designers wanted, it was never planned to be a working model, and remained a non-runner.