1987 Jaguar TWR XJ6 Sovereign

Speaking of which, ‘D411 RKJ’ is understood to have been owned originally by Tom Walkinshaw Racing, and while there’s no paperwork to support this, the fact the service history booklet shows its first registration number was ‘TWR 97’ makes the claim plausible. 

Its appeal is further bolstered by the fact it’s been in the seller’s care since 1991. Having gone to an auction to buy a car for one of his employees, he couldn’t resist bidding on this Jaguar. He was delighted to win and tells us he used it a fair bit for the first four years before deciding to maintain it for posterity.

He kept it garaged and regularly MoT’d, and it’s worth perusing the online MoT history as there isn’t a single mention of structural corrosion, which must make this example unique in the annals of XJ40 history.

It presents well too, and the only fault he’s aware of is a slow puncture in one of the tyres. You’ll probably also want to treat it to a major service, after which you might just have the best XJ40 in the country.

The Talisman Silver coachwork (paint code MDF) gives the XJ40 a hewn-from-solid look that is entirely in keeping with its somewhat boxy shape. It’s also a visual sleight of hand the tight and consistent shutlines, oblong headlamps, and 16-inch, low-drag alloy wheels reinforce. 

The brochure that introduced the TWR XJ40 says the body kit, which comprises replacement front and rear bumper finishers (“There is no metal work, no use of filler”), side skirts, and subtle boot-mounted spoiler contribute “windcheating elegance”, a description we can’t argue with. 

This one’s addenda still fit very well too; taken in conjunction with the one-owner-since-1991 history and the clear HPI report and we doubt this is a car with an interesting story behind it. 

This meticulous curation extends to the smaller details like the four corners of the bumpers, and the door mirror caps, all of which are free of major scuffs, scrapes, and other signs of a careless owner.

The door handles and window frames are finished in matt black, a theme the smoked rear lamps continue. A TWR badge on the rear is joined by another in the rear window, showing slower motorists they’ve been overtaken by a Big Cat with genuine motorsport provenance. 

The 8”x16” low-drag alloy wheels are fitted with 225/55R16 tyres, which are both wider and lower in profile than those fitted to the standard XJ40. The rims themselves are in fine fettle being free of scuffs, scratches, and other kerbing damage, while the tyres are matching Goodyear Efficient Grip, albeit dating back to 2013.

Nonetheless, we will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. 

As for flaws, there is some corrosion to the lower section of the offside rear door, around the nearside rear lamp cluster, the nearside front door skin’s crimped inner edge, the rear of the offside sill, and the base of the nearside C-pillar.

There are also a couple of small marks to the nearside front bumper, cracks to the nearside front indicator lens, scratches and U/V damage to both rear lamp clusters, scratches along the top of the driver’s door, flaking paint to the nearside door mirror, and a small area of flaking paint to the bonnet as well as a couple of small blisters.

The paintwork around the rear window is a little untidy, and the overspray on the window rubber and nearside rear fog lamp shows it’s had fresh paint at some point.

The black leather interior, which is trim code LEG, has fared every bit as well as the coachwork. Displaying nothing more than the degree of creasing and moderate colour loss to the driver’s seat you’d expect to find on a car that’ll shortly celebrate its 40th birthday, the combination of sombre leather, high-quality walnut veneer, and a leather TWR-branded steering wheel makes for an elegant yet sporting cabin. 

The seats are electrically adjustable, and when you’ve wrangled them into your preferred position you’ll notice they’re still plump and supportive. The rear seats are in an even better condition and look virtually unused.

The instruments are a fetching combination of analogue dials for speed and engine revs and first-generation digital displays for battery charge, oil pressure, fuel level, coolant temperature, and odometer. There’s a rudimentary trip computer to the right of the steering wheel too, and the overall effect is charmingly of its time. 

Other period features include a Fischer cassette holder in the central armrest that holds the tapes for the period radio-cassette player that’s fitted in the dashboard. 

The top of that dashboard is free of the sort of cracks and age-related damage we often see, while the walnut veneer is still shining and bright and free of obvious cracks, chips, and flaking lacquer.

The pockets on the back of the front seat are also nice and taut, the door cards are in good shape, and the white lettering on the controls is generally very good.

The boot is an impressive size and well-trimmed with carpets, even if there are a few stains and it is peeling away from one side. The boot floor also has some rust underneath the floor covering. On the plus side, it also contains a pair of good rubber mats, a full-size spare wheel, and the Jaguar tool kit.

As for cosmetic faults, the headlining is drooping, the trim panel above the front passenger’s legs is warped, and some of the carpets in the cabin also have stains on them.

The Jaguar’s service history is recorded as follows:

• 24.04.1987 and 1,223 miles – service by TWR Jaguar (Coventry) Ltd
• 18.06.1987 and 5,984 miles – service by TWR Jaguar Ltd, Leamington Spa
• 30.09.1987 and 12,100 miles – service by TWR Jaguar Sport, Kidlington
• 16.09.1988 and 24,948 miles – service by Barretts of Canterbury
• 19.06.1989 and 26,992 miles – service by B.B. Motor Services, Reading
• 13.09.1989 and 38,842 miles – service by B.B. Motor Services, Reading
• 26.01.1990 and 45,577 miles – service by B.B. Motor Services, Reading
• 18.06.1990 and 53,936 miles – service by B.B. Motor Services, Reading
• 20.09.1990 and 59,151 miles – service by B.B. Motor Services, Reading
• 18.04.2000 and 85,804 miles – service by W.W. Webber Ltd, Basingstoke

The online MoT record starts in 2008 and 90,442 miles and runs to September 2025 and 92,078 miles, so it would be fair to say the past couple of decades have not been terribly onerous. 

As you can see in the video, the 3.6-litre engine fires up willingly, idles well, and revs as smoothly as you’d expect of a straight-six engine. It does it all with good oil pressure too, as well as a healthy charge to the battery – and no warning lights illuminated.

In fact, the only fault the seller has made us aware of is a slow puncture in one of the tyres. 

Cosmetically the engine bay is good with no obvious flaws and a decently preserved condition. Sure, you could prettify it further if you wanted too, but we imagine most drivers would be happy to have it valeted and leave it at that.

Moving underneath the car, while there is some light corrosion to places like the sills, no MoT tester has ever mentioned structural corrosion, so what you can see may well be the extent, which would be remarkable and worth the price of entry all by itself; rust has killed more mid-eighties Jaguars than anything else, so if you can find one that hasn’t suffered, you know you’re on to a winner.

Better still, the Jaguar’s MoT, which is valid until September 2026, was issued with no advisories, just like the previous two.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and it comes with two keys.

Its paperwork includes the all-important stamped service history booklet and a couple of invoices for repairs from 2014-15 in addition to the V5 registration document, the Jaguar wallet and book pack (including the cassette that tells you how to use the stereo), a bunch of expired MoT certificates, two green Customer Certificates of Completion, and even an RAC membership card dated 24th April 1987 that bears the registration number ‘TWR 97’. 

Being offered with an estimate of between £10,000 and £15,000, this Jaguar XJ6 sits towards the top of the range for the XJ40 series of cars.

But then it is an unusually appealing example with an interesting history and only 7,000-odd miles added to the modest odometer reading since 2000.

It is also one of the last cars to be built before TWR entered a £5,000,000 joint venture to create JaguarSport Ltd, with Sir John Egan as chairman and Tom Walkinshaw as the managing director.

Still unconvinced? Well, the seller has sufficient faith in his car to offer it with no reserve, so it’ll be going to a new home after the very first bid has been placed. 

Even better, the XJ40 hasn’t begun to appreciate in the way we suspect it will, so now might be the time to get in at the ground floor before everyone else realizes what a great purchase they can be.

We expect the virtual hammer will fall somewhere between £10,000 and £15,000.

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