1985: The Cabriolet gets more power

February

1985 was a sad year for Jaguar, Sir William Lyons, founder of Jaguar Cars and a pioneer of the motor industry, died at the age of 83  on the 8th February, hundreds attended his funeral at Coventry Cathedral, many being employees past and present.

July

Jaguar announced the introduction of the XJ-S HE V12 Cabriolet on the 17th July. Unlike the 3.6 litre version introduced two years earlier, the XJ-S HE V12 Cabriolet would not be produced for a limited customer base. The XJ-SC 3.6 litre was produced in low volumes for the “on-demand” customers due to the fact that the targa roof was fitted by an external company. With the new addition to the range, Jaguar moved away from using the expertise of the supplier and decided to bring the fitting of the roof in-house, this meant numbers were not limited and Jaguar could build larger volumes of both the 3.6 litre and the V12 5.3 litre models. The burr elm veneers for the fascia and door casings were selected to ensure that only matching grains were used. The veneers were sanded, polished and mounted on to base wood for installation into the finished car, this process would take at least three weeks. The selection of the hides for the leather trim and seats was another painstaking process. It could take up to five whole hides to complete the interior trim of a car. The hides were matched and cut by extremely skilled craftsmen, many of whom had a lifetime’s experience in leather work. The seats were hand sewn and then matched with the other leather trimmed pieces before installation took place, a practice that continues today. Externally, the V12 Cabriolet was identified by the XJ-SC HE badging and V12 motif on the front grille.

September

The V12 Cabriolet was designed from the outset as a two-seater car, unlike its Coupé counterpart; there was no provision for any rear seat passengers. Initial construction of the V12 Cabriolet started at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant, the body panels were assembled into a complete body unit which was then shipped to an external supplier to have the roof removed and then returned back to the Castle Bromwich plant to be painted. Extensive pre-treatment processes together with meticulous attention to quality control ensured the body was able to withstand the rigours of corrosion – regardless of the most extreme climate conditions.

Following a thorough body inspection, the completed bodies were transported to the Browns Lane assembly plant. The body shell was then joined with the power train which had been produced at Jaguar’s engine and transmission plant at Radford. Browns Lane was not only the main assembly plant for Jaguar cars, it was also the plant where the wood veneer and leather trim was created from the raw materials. The use of wood and top grade leather epitomised the quality of the Jaguar range.

Every car was rigorously inspected as it passed down the assembly line. As well as the inspectors taking the cars on road test, the new cars were subjected to a static computerised rolling road test. High pressure water tests were designed to expose any leaks and the car went through a thorough safety check to ensure it complied with legislation in whatever country it was destined for. The road test was used to monitor handling and performance. The inspector would listen for any excessive wind noise, and the emissions levels would be checked. The car would then be returned to the final line to have the exterior trim, bumpers, badges and door mirrors fitted. This was followed by even more checks and tests before the finished car was allowed to leave the company.

The new V12 Cabriolet shared the sophisticated mechanical specifications of the XJ-S HE Coupé. Like the 3.6 litre Cabriolet, the V12 version had the storage envelope in the boot to house the targa panels when removed. Externally, the V12 Cabriolet was identified by the XJ-SC HE badging and V12 motif on the front grille. The paint work was finished with twin coach lines.

In many respects, the interior of the V12 Cabriolet was identical to the V12 Coupé, but the Cabriolet owners had two generous lockable storage boxes behind the front seats to protect any valuables and a fully carpeted boot area with chromed retaining bar. A digitally tuned Clarion E950 radio/cassette was fitted as standard and it was accompanied by four balanced speakers. An electric aerial retracted automatically when the radio was switched off. A full air conditioning system with variable temperature settings was fitted.

Further changes for the 1986 model year were made as follows:

• The H.E. badge was dropped and was replaced with a simple V12 badge on the boot
• The interior veneer was changed to burr walnut due to the lack of supply of elm, although the 3.6 litre models continued with elm for a while longer; on the V12 the burr walnut fascia and door inserts had matchwood inlays
• The interior for the 3.6 litre models was downgraded by the use of Ambla combined with a herringbone tweed-like wool mixture cloth, both for the seats and head rests

October

The TWR team returned to Australia on the 6th October for the 1985 Bathurst race where three XJ-S cars were entered, and Walkinshaw secured pole position for himself and co-driver Percy, while John Goss was partnered by Armin Hahne and Jeff Allam by Ron Dickson. The Allam car soon dropped out, and while Walkinshaw led the early stages he had oil cooler problems and dropped down the field, while Goss and Hahne took the lead. They were the eventual winners, with Walkinshaw and Percy third after a BMW. However, it was apparent that the XJ-S was coming to the end of its racing career. The relationship between TWR and Jaguar Cars on the other hand was intensifying on two fronts, not only were they about to introduce TWR JaguarSport, a company that would offer specially developed Jaguar road cars for sale to customers, but the TWR Jaguar team also entered the World Sportscar Championship for the first time with the XJR-6 in 1985.