It has been a while since I had time to do a brand new chop, but I
carved out some time the other night. I've done a new XJ coupe in the
past, but it was a long-wheelbase model with a pillarless greenhouse. It
was a halo car of sorts, meant to take on the big CL Mercedes coupe
(now the S Class coupe). This red XJ coupe is a different type of
vehicle. I shortened the wheelbase about 6 inches from the sedan, all
behind the front seats for a tighter almost 2+2 interior, although this
is still a big car so the +2 in the back is still fairly roomy. I kept
the rigid B-pillar for the structure and I estimate the weight savings
of this aluminum platform over its larger sedan siblings at about 400
lbs. The overall size of my XJ coupe is just about halfway between the
XJ and the XF midsize sedan. This time around I kept the sedan's avant
garde black B-pillar trim. I've come to appreciate that odd styling
touch.
My earlier XJ coupe, a long wheelbase pillarless top-of-the-line model.
An even earlier attempt to bring back an XJ coupe was this version done
before the massively modernized XJ saloon was introduced. I wanted to
bring back the elegance of the '70s and '80s big Jag coupe complete with
vinyl roof!
