Series III Sedans
XJ6/12 1979 - 1992

The Series III 4 door Saloons were available with 3.4 litre and 4.2 litre 6 cylinder engines (XJ6), or a 5.3 litre V12 (XJ12). They share a common platform with their predecessor the Series 2, however a number of styling and mechanical changes were made to the newer model.

The most obvious changes were the result of a restyle done by leading Italian design company Pininfarina. The shape of the bonnet, the tail lights, the rake of the windscreen and the height of the roof were altered. A new grille was fitted and new alloy rims (which came to be known as "pepper-pots") were an optional extra chosen by many.


The Series 3 on the left has a grill with vertical slats, the series 2 on the right has horizontal grille slats (almost a crosshatch effect), you can also discern a minor difference in the bonnet (hood) shapes if you look closely.

The rear end shots below show the change from the Series 1 and Series 2 (pictured) "gothic" style tail lights to the almost semi circular Series 3 style on the left.

While cloth seats were available on the base models, the vast majority shipped with Connolly Leather Seats as seen in the pictured Sovereign. Walnut Dash and Inlays were standard on all models, the XJ6/12 and Sovereign models had the option of electrically adjustable drivers seat, this was standard on the Daimler and VdP. Items such as electrically adjustable mirrors and air conditioning were standard. Rear Seat Headrests,Reading lights for front and rear, 4 way Stereo,Cruise control and trip computer were standard on the Sovereign, Daimler and VdP in most countries.The Daimler and VdP had a different rear seat to the rest of the range - it was 2 full bucket seats with an armrest in between, rather than the Bench style of the XJ6, 12 and Sovereign.

Production Numbers

The Series 3 was available in several forms, the basic XJ 6 in either 3.4 or 4.2 litre straight 6. The XJ12 5.3 litre V12. The Sovereign (6 and 12) which incorporated many features that were optional extras for the standard models, and the top of the range, the Daimler Six and Double Six. The 6 and 12 cylinder Daimlers, incorporated all the options and often items unique to the Daimler range. In the US and Germany the Daimler was badged as Van Den Plaas (VDP) due to the copyright restrictions on the Daimler name - it is owned by Daimler Benz in those countries. The 6 cylinder Series 3 was replaced by the XJ40 in 1987. The V12 Series 3 continued until 1992. Production Figures below are only up to 1988 currently, this is to be updated shortly. Note that the production figures for 1978 are pre release models for exhibition at model launches.

We've begged, borrowed and stolen these pics from everywhere so if your car is pictured let us know so we can give credit.

---

 

Last updated on 03/08/00 by Henry Fok. Send your comments to: spectre@jag-lovers.org. Original page by John Littler.