1976 Jaguar XJ12 Sedan

Jaguar has long enjoyed a storied heritage of dashing styling and high performance. Jaguar dates to 1922 when two motorcycle enthusiasts, Sir William Lyons and William Walmsley, founded the Swallow Sidecar Company. After World War II, they developed a reputation for dashing styling and high performance as a steady stream of sexy sports cars and purpose-built race cars rolled out of their British factory. In the early 1950s they added a series of elegant luxury saloons; the XJ joined this line in 1968 and four years later the XJ12 was introduced, with a 5.3-liter V12. It was touted as the fastest full four-seater available in the world with a top speed near 140 mph.

Although the plan had always been to eventually squeeze a V12 into the XJ engine bay, the actual installation proved a tight fit and quite an engineering challenge. A Series II redesign debuted in 1973 and from then on the two-door coupe kept the shorter wheelbase and the 4-door, or long-wheelbase model, got an extra four inches of cabin length. 1976 also saw the addition of electronic fuel injection in North American XJs. Sales brochures in 1976 proudly boasted that 'real wood, real leather and deep silence are standard equipment' on all XJ12's.

This car was bought online, sight unseen, in 2012. The current owner was attracted to its elegant design and beautiful Imperial Maroon paint. It came with plenty of documentation and virtually no rust; very rare given its Michigan heritage.