The Jaguar XJ6 is considered by many to have been Sir William Lyon’s magnum opus – the greatest automobile he led the design of. The XJ6 was developed into the XJ12 and there was also an XJ8.
One of the most famous Jaguar XJs was the XJ12 Coupe of fictional character secret agent John Steed in the television series The New Avengers. Steed’s car was fitted with a Broadspeed full body kit and finished in a dark green livery.
Fast Facts – The Jaguar XJ6
- The Jaguar XJ6 was introduced in 1968 and it was the last Jaguar model that Jaguar Cars founder, Sir William Lyons, would have direct design input into.
- Sir William had an extraordinary instinct for car design and was reputed to be fastidious about the design features of all Jaguar cars.
- The XJ6 is regarded by many as Sir William’s magnum opus: the greatest car created under his leadership.
- A modified Jaguar XJ12 Coupe was chosen as the car for the character John Steed in the television secret agent drama “The New Avengers.”
- That Jaguar was custom fitted with a British Broadspeed body kit and painted a dark green. This car became something of an icon in Britain.
The Importance Of The Jaguar XJ6
The Jaguar XJ6 was the last car that Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars, had direct input into and it was, in my humble opinion, his greatest creation. It was quintessentially British, and offered quietly understated luxury, sufficient performance, and impeccable handling.
The interior of the Jaguar XJ6 is a masterpiece of automobile design art. The engineer’s dashboard set in walnut veneer gives the car a luxurious quality.
I remember first seeing one when it made its 1968 debut at a Jaguar display stand at a show and being instantly smitten.
This was a car that really was Sir William Lyons magnum opus: he had created some amazing cars prior to this one, but the XJ6 stands out as the pinnacle, a blending of gorgeous aesthetics, engineering merged with art, and a driving experience second to none – a driver’s car created by those who really appreciated driver’s cars.
The XJ6 first appeared in 1968 and was offered with the choice of either the 2.8 litre or 4.2 litre XJ DOHC inline six cylinder engine mated to either a four-speed all synchromesh manual gearbox with electric overdrive, or a three speed Borg Warner automatic.
Suspension was independent all around, power disc brakes on all four corners, power steering that gave excellent road feel, and radial tyres – the Dunlop Aquajets that proved so instrumental in gripping the road as tenaciously as a leopard’s claws when climbing a tree, yet which worked with the suspension to iron out the lumps and bumps in the road and provide the sort of “magic carpet” ride one expects of a Rolls-Royce.
About the only thing that might have prevented it being used as a James Bond movie car was its price. The XJ6 was a car that middle class people could afford whereas James Bond’s cars of the time were typically expensive high social status items by Bentley (“From Russia With Love” 1963) and Aston Martin (“Goldfinger” 1964).
But there was one fictional British secret agent who made the move from his classic 1920’s Bentley to a Jaguar XJ12, and that was John Steed, played by British actor Patrick McNee, in the “Avengers” and “New Avengers” television series.
John Steed and The New Avengers
The character John Steed was very much a British gentleman secret agent who much preferred to use his umbrella or a sword to deal with violent adversaries, I don’t think he ever appears with a pistol or revolver in the first series of the “Avengers” in the 1960’s.
The plot lines of that television series were even more imaginatively fantastical than those of the early James Bond movies and as such proved to be delightfully entertaining.
Under the bonnet the XK engine looks very much at home fitted with the triple Weber carburettors.
For the second series which was titled the “New Avengers” John Steed trades his old faithful 1926 4½ litre Bentley for a somewhat customized 1976 5.3 litre Jaguar XJ12 Coupe painted in a discreet dark green and kitted out with a not-so-discreet Broadspeed body kit with much wider than standard alloy wheels and tires.
This car was I think, the closest John Steed gets to a car that James Bond might feel at home in: as in a car that Daniel Craig’s James Bond would be happy with.
The Broadspeed Wide Body XJ6 Shown Here
John Steed’s Jaguar XJ in the “New Avengers” series served as a source of inspiration for one person in particular who had an original 1973 Jaguar XJ6 Series II and wanted to give it the best aspects of Steed’s XJ12.
This was to be a complete rebuild of that standard XJ6 which would include the fitting of Broadspeed body kit components often used on racing Jaguars to create the ultimate road-going Jaguar XJ6.
That Broadspeed full body kit involved the fitting of Broadspeed rear doors and the flared wheel arches created the room for the 15-inch Wolfrace wheels and wide Cooper Cobra Radial G/T tyres.
The engine was kept mostly standard other than for the fitting of triple Weber carburettors taken from a 4.2-litre Jaguar E-Type (XKE). The fitting of the Webers required the modification of the air filters.
The Broadspeed body kit provides for the fitting of the wide Wolfrace alloy wheels and Cooper Cobra Radial G/T tyres.
As modified the 4.2 litre XK engine delivers 150bhp and 213lb/ft of torque, and is coupled to a three-speed Borg-Warner automatic transmission.
This engine exhales through a Fastflow stainless steel exhaust system.
The interior of the car is trimmed in red leather and has its original walnut veneer dashboard complete with Smith’s instruments, a Kienzle analogue clock, and standard switch gear.
The car features a heated rear window and of course the standard heater/demister system.
In-flight entertainment is provided by a Wharfedale stereo system which includes AUX and Bluetooth so one can use one’s smartphone hands free while driving.
For the paint finish the original owner decided that the drab green of John Steed’s Jaguar was a bit plain and so the interesting dark green used by Volkswagen and called “Dragon Green” was chosen.
The car was completely stripped down for the customization project.
The resulting custom car looks very similar to the “New Avengers” car but has a more practical four doors. It has been such an interesting project that it was chosen to feature in the March 2021 issue of Jaguar World magazine in a six-page feature titled “Copy Cat.”
You can view the sale page for this unique Jaguar XJ6 at the Collecting Cars website here.
All images courtesy of Collecting Cars.
Jon Branch has written countless official automobile Buying Guides for eBay Motors over the years, he’s also written for Hagerty, he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome and the official SSAA Magazine, and he’s the founder and senior editor of Revivaler.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine, and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China, and Hong Kong. The fastest thing he’s ever driven was a Bolwell Nagari, the slowest was a Caterpillar D9, and the most challenging was a 1950’s MAN semi-trailer with unexpected brake failure.
