If you ever wondered why Jaguar never made a coupe version of their smashing XJ sedan...it's because you didn't know that they actually did. You're be in good company.
At first I thought it was a photoshop job or even dare I say a custom shortened chassis or something. But no. Between 1975-1978, Jaguar pumped out over 10,000 of these, small figures but enough so that a few have survived today.
The idea is really attractive. Their XJ sedan was already legendary. The ancient, gothic styling. 6-cylinder powerplant. Royal credentials. Any anglophile automatically loves Jaguar. So why not a coupe?
Fortunately, the XJ body translates really well into a 2-door coupe. It looks long, low and sleek. Suddenly, you can visualize yourself taking day trips from London to the English countryside and back.
That's about where the advantages end, though. To make the doors longer, Jaguar just welded extensions on to the standard XJ sedan door. The seams are often visible on the other side. Since there are no b-pillars, the roof flexed, causing paint to crack and chip away. Jaguar covered the roof with vinyl, but not only does it look in poor taste but was also a rust trap.
The seller of this example states it was restored in 2003. Their pictures are from 2011. They say it has a new biscuit interior, which does indeed look good. They say the car is otherwise original down to the chrome hubcaps.
I would try to swap the clunky 5 mph bumpers for slim Euro pieces, and maybe take the vinyl off and take the roof down to the bare metal then repaint it matching the bright red body color. Other than that, it's fine cosmetically.
The seller makes no mention of the mechanicals, however.
Find it here on craigslist in Minnesota for $10,500.
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