1988: The Year of JaguarSport and Return to Tradition

February 

The last V12 Cabriolet came off the track in February 1988 and was donated to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Collection but is now no longer part of the Collection.

April

The 1988½ model year saw the introduction of the XJ-S V12 Convertible. This car went on sale in the UK on 27 April after a preview at the Geneva Motor Show. This model was the world’s fastest and most refined open top car. The tradition for making open two-seaters started at Jaguar when the SS Jaguar 100 was introduced in 1935, it continued with the XK Series in the 1940s and 1950s and finished with the E-type Roadster which ceased in 1974. That tradition was to be resumed with the introduction of this new model. Unlike its famous predecessors, the XJ-S convertible had a fully powered operated roof that could be raised and lowered at a touch of a button, and even included a heated and tinted glass rear window. The hood was constructed of the highest quality and was fully lined and padded. Its tinted and heated glass rear window ensured excellent “hood up” appearance as well as offering the obvious demisting, security and durability advantages over the more commonly used plastic rear window. The heavy woven hood fabric came in three colours, black, blue and brown. The kerb weight of the UK specification Convertible was 1900kg compared to 1800kg for the V12 Coupé. The Convertible featured the new anti-lock braking system made by Teves as standard. Interior fittings were luxurious and comprehensive, top quality hides were used to cover the anatomically designed seats. The rear quarter panels were trimmed with leather, burr walnut veneer was used extensively on the fascia panel, centre console and the door cappings, where it had intricate matchwood inlays.

May

On 23 May the Jaguar Engineering Centre at Whitley was opened by Lord Young, Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry. Whitley was originally opened in 1918 as an airfield, during the 1920s and 1930s it was used in aircraft testing and construction. In the late 1930s and during the war it produced the fuselages for the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Bomber. From 1948 it worked on guided weapon development until Chrysler UK (later Peugeot Talbot) purchased the site in 1969. Jaguar bought the site in 1985 and after a major investment in the site was s responsible for all of Jaguars product engineering functions including, vehicle design, advanced engineering, vehicle development, vehicle safety and it also became home for a new Styling Centre. Whitley was involved in the XJS facelifts and mechanical updates until the end of production in 1996. In 1998-2000 there was a major expansion of the engineering and design facilities and the opening of the Geoff Lawson Studio, home of the Advanced Design department. When Browns Lane closed in 2006 it became Jaguar’s Head Quarters.

June

TWR had been given the task of designing a sports racing car to win Le Mans for Jaguar. In 1986 and 1987 the cars performed well but there was no Jaguar win. In 1988 Jaguar went to Le Mans in strength, with an entry of five XJR-9 cars, all powered by the Jaguar V12 engine producing 650 bhp from 6.0 litre engines or 750 bhp from the bigger 7.0 litre engines. Two of the cars retired but the remaining three went on to finish first, fourth and sixteenth. The winning Jaguar, driven by Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace, completed 394 laps and covered a distance of 5,330.86 km (3,313.15 miles), in comparison the winning D-type of 1957 covered a distance of 4,397 km (2,732 miles).

August

In May 1988 Jaguar formed a joint venture with TWR; JaguarSport. It was a logical development of the highly successful TWR Jaguar racing association with the XJ-S and was dedicated to the production of high performance “sports” versions of Jaguars. In addition to its primary role as a car manufacturer, JaguarSport played a key role in the development and application of “leading edge” technology on behalf of Jaguar Cars culminating in the XJ220. The first model to be produced was the XJR-S. It was introduced on 22nd August 1988, part-finished at Browns Lane and then sent to JaguarSport at Kidlington for completion as an XJR-S. It came with a body kit, and sportier suspension/brake set up. The first 100 units off the line were a limited edition and were referred to as “Le Mans Celebration” models to commemorate Jaguar’s 1988 Le Mans win.

Sir John Egan commented

“We formed JaguarSport to produce Jaguars which would appeal more directly to motor sports enthusiasts. I am confident that the XJR-S will do just that. Winning Le Mans again gave us the idea of a celebration version too, and I am delighted with the end result”.

September 

For the 1989 model year cars, the following changes were introduced the availability of the sports suspension on the V12 coupé and the option of a catalyst for all V12-engined cars, except in the USA where it was already standard. On the V12 models, Jaguar introduced a digital ignition system manufactured by Marelli.

For the 1989 model year cars, the following changes were introduced: The availability of the sports suspension on the V12 coupé and the option of a catalyst for all V12-engined cars, The Starfish alloy wheel became an option, The deletion of the air injection from all catalyst AJ6 models in all markets, ECU packaged on the side of the passenger foot well with trim and bonnet lever modifications to suit, Premium unleaded fuel labels on the instrument pack and fuel filler on cars for the American markets.

November

For 1988½ model year, the grille was changed together with the location of the washer jets due to supplier constraints. On the V12 models, Jaguar introduced a digital ignition system manufactured by Marelli. This was introduced as a running change during November 1988 on the Convertible but was included on Coupés built during October and November.

December

Sales of the XJ-S gained momentum in 1988 with production of 10,361 units, 4500 of which went to the American market (2000 of which were Convertibles).