This is the very last V12 engined car to be produced by Jaguar Cars, on 17 April 1997.

The V12 was in production from 1971 during which time a total of 161,583 V12-engined cars were made. This engine design powered four previous generations of Jaguar saloons, from the XJ12 Series 1 through the Series 2 and Series 3 models, to the XJ40. The V12 was also found in the E-type Series 3 from 1971 to 1974, and in the XJ-S from 1975 to 1996. The V12 engine was the basis of the racing engines that brought Jaguar victory at Le Mans in 1988 and 1990.

The V12 design had started life as a power unit for Jaguar’s potential Le Mans contender of the 1960s, the still-born XJ13. Compared to the XJ13’s racing engine of 5 litres with four overhead camshafts and 502bhp, the production version of 1971 was slightly bigger at 5.3 litres but was fitted only with one overhead camshaft per bank, and was less powerful with 272bhp. Originally fitted with carburettors, in 1975 the V12 acquired fuel injection, the HE (High Efficiency) cylinder heads arrived in 1981, and it was finally enlarged to 6 litres in 1993.

The Jaguar V12 engine was the first modern V12 engine in mass production, and for many years, Jaguar was the only company in the world to offer a four-door saloon car with this type of engine. When this car was built in 1997, it truly marked the end of an era for the company.

When the new X300 range was launched in September 1994 as a replacement for the eight-year old XJ40 range, there were 3.2 litre and 4-litre versions of the XJ6, using the AJ16 engine, an improved version of the original AJ6 engine. There was also still the XJ12 model with Jaguar’s famous 6 litre V12. The Daimler range consisted of two models, the 4-litre Six and the V12 Double Six.

However, after three years, in 1997 both the six and twelve cylinder cars were replaced by the XJ8, with Jaguar’s new AJ-V8 engine.