The Jaguar XJ Series is a line of luxury saloons that replaced the
Mark 2 and the
S-Type. The XJ Series became Jaguar's flagship line and is currently at 4 generations and dubbed as: the Mark 1 ('68-'92), the Mark 2 ('86-'03), the Mark 3 ('03-'09) and the Mark 4 ('09+).
The Mark 1 started in 1968 with a 6-cylinder saloon, the XJ6. In 1972, the V12-engined XJ12 was added along with long wheel base versions, the XJ6/XJ12 LWB. Mark 1 underwent 3 major revisions,
Series 1 ('68-'73), Series 2 ('73-'79) and Series 3 ('79-'92). The 2-door coupe versions, the XJ6/XJ12 Coupe, were released from 1975 to 1978. Mark 2 replaced, in 1987, the XJ6 with the XJ40 and, in 1992, the XJ12 with the XJ81. XJ6/XJ12 (X300) returned in 1995 and added a supercharged version, the XJR. In 1997, the XJ6, XJ12 and XJR were replaced by the V8-engined XJ8 and XJR (X308).
A luxury version of XJ Series models were sold under the Daimler brand. They were named: the Sovereign (XJ6), the Double-Six (XJ12) and the Super V8/Eight (V8 XJR). The Vanden Plas name was originally used to identify LWB versions but was dropped in 1974 when the short versions were dropped. But in 1982, the Vanden Plas name returned and, since then, was used to represent the most luxurious XJ saloon in the US market.
