Following up on our previous videos on this fascinating Jaguar, David Marks walks us through not only the details of the construction of this unique prototype but also compares this factorybuilt car to a private coachbuilt attempt in the form of the Humberstonebuilt Jaguar XJ40 estate car: www.jec.org.uk

Wayne Scott, Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine Editor interviews David Marks, JEC Technical Advisor and Proprietor of David Marks Garages.

In 1992, Jaguar had never made a production estate car, although they went on to make the XTYPE estate in 2004 and the XF Sportbrake in 2012.

Earlier, Sir William Lyons had become interested in developing an estate car based on the successful XJ saloon. In his retirement, he experimented with sticks and string on his personal XJ but it was nothing more than experimentation. Then, there were several private coachbuilt conversions of the S3 XJ6 and XJS like the Lynx Eventer but these were rare and often expensive options.

By the late 1980s, Jaguar had become more interested in developing an estate car, based on the new XJ40. This was an official project undertaken by the Design and Engineering Centre at Whitley and resulted in an XJ40 ‘Shooting Brake’ which was seriously considered for production before fears over costs and market confidence canned the project.

One car was built however and is now owned by the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, but has been out of action for the best part of two decades.

Now, in partnership with the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club and David Marks Garages, the car has undergone a recent recommissioning and is now back on the road. The Club and David Marks have had a long history with the car having taken part in the JEC’s Entente Cordial trip with it during the 1990s. Since then, the car has covered only a few hundred miles, with just over 7K on the clock since it was completed at Whitley.

It was displayed in the JDHT collection with a Perspex bonnet for many years, its original steel bonnet has now been reinstalled as part of the recommissioning. The braking system has been overhauled and a full programme of maintenance and repair work carried out ready for the car to be used on the road once more.

The car was unveiled with a new MoT having driven on the road for the first time in many years at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon on 6th April 2024 outside the JDHT collection during the Jaguar Breakfast Club Meeting that featured a celebratory display dedicated to the XJ40.

Further work, including an overhaul of the selflevelling suspension system, will now be carried out with enthusiasts able to follow the project in its various stages through the pages of Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine in the coming months.

Visit the JEC and join/ subscribe to receive copies of Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine: www.jec.org.uk

Read more on the JDHT collection site: https://www.jaguarheritage.com/vehicl...