The XJ40 saloons were revised in 1993, Jaguar claiming no less than 1,500 new components. By this time, the range included the long-wheelbase, higher-roofed olde-worlde Majestic, modified by Coventry's Project Aerospace, and the cheapo (£26,800) XJ6 3.2 with fabric seats. Sadly, the 1993 XJ-S 'shooting brake' converted by Lynx Engineering, the Eventer, remains a rare sight. The last-ditch changes to the range before the all-new X300 models also meant that the V12 engine, now 313 bhp, finally found its way into the XJ40. (Dymock explains that Leyland engineers had deliberately made the XJ40's engine bay very narrow, to prevent the fitting of the Rover V8 engine that Leyland had threatened to impose on them). The XJ40 V12 was also offered in Daimler Double Six form, and these continued after the launch of the X300, right up until 1997.

The XJ40 models are now very cheap to buy - it's perfectly possible to pick one up for a couple of grand and get good use out of it. Just don't expect it to be equally cheap to maintain, or indeed, to be completely reliable. Rust is a problem with these, especially under-floor and around the boot area, the suspension and rear axle can get very tired and the electrics - long a Jaguar bugbear - can be disastrous. But an XJ40 is a very low-cost initial way into luxury motoring, and although they look a bit flash, they're still less ostentatious than an old S-Class and feel more special than an elderly 7-Series. Sovereign rings (no pun intended), an open shirt, hairy chest and a gold medallion is optional, unless you want to look like an Essex wide boy-done-good.