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The XJ is the most popular Jaguar of all time. The glamorous E-Type and the XK120 might been more famous, but the XJ has been Jaguar's staple product for most of the past three decades - over 800,000 have been made so far. But the XJ is about more than popularity. It has variously been lauded as the best car in the world, the most refined, the most beautiful four door saloon - and, less glamorously, it is still the banger of choice for demolition derby racers. Plenty have met their end on TV cops and robbers programmes, too. Forgotten now is the fact that the XJ was astonishing value for money as well, costing thousands less than its equivalents, most of which came from Germany. Many baffled over how the company did it, but plenty of starry-eyed owners found out how on the hard shoulder - the cost-savings were made in component quality, and rust-protection. Despite this, the XJ was considered a standard-bearer in the industry for years, many companies, including Mercedes, buying XJ12s to tear down for their inner secrets.
Visually, the Jaguar XJ6 launched in September 1968 looks remarkably similar to the XJ of today, which shows that Sir William Lyons got it right first time. Not that the XJ was completely forward-looking: automotive historian Eric Dymock says that "there were few technical innovations or fashion statements in the XJ6", but that "it was more in execution than basic design that the new car was able to distinguish itself".
What the XJ6 did do was rationalize Jaguar's production processes and instigate a new policy now the norm in the motor industry: that of platform-sharing, or producing a series of models which shared a number of the same basic components. It effectively replaced a number of aged, out-moded models that were still struggling on: the Mk 2 240, the 340, the 3.4 S, Mk 2 3.8 and 3.8 S, the 420 (which continued as a Daimler Sovereign) - all cars from another era. In the late '60s, foreign brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW were beginning to have a significant impact on the British car market, and even the homegrown large cars from less prestigious manufacturers were getting more powerful and advanced: the Ford Zephyr Mk III and the Rover 3500 with the Buick V8, for a start.
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