1988 Jaguar XJSC V12 Cabriolet

The Jaguar XJ-S (later called XJS) is a luxury grand tourer manufactured and marketed by British automobile manufacturer Jaguar from 1975 to 1996, in coupé, fixed-profile and full convertible body styles. There were three distinct iterations, with a final production total of 115,413 units over 20 years and seven months. Originally developed using the platform of the then current XJ saloon, the XJ-S was noted for its prominent rear flying buttresses. The styling was by Jaguar's pioneering aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer — one of the first designers to apply advanced aero principles to cars. The 5.3-liter HE V12 features high-turbulence combustion chambers and Lucas CEI injection for a factory-rated output of 262 horsepower and 290 lb-ft of torque in the US market. Shifting is through a 3-speed automatic transmission. From July 1981, the XJ-S was renamed the XJ-S HE and received the new High-Efficiency V12 engine for much better fuel economy. With the Fire Ball combustion chamber designed by Swiss Engineer Michael May, power output was increased as a by-product to 220 kW (295 hp) or 196 kW (263 hp) in North America. At the same time, the XJ-S HE received changes to its exterior and interior (body-colored trunk plinth in place of the standard previous black, new five-spoke (starfish) alloy wheels, chrome inserts on the upper part of the bumpers, burled elm inserts on dashboard and door cappings).