1988 V12 Sovereign

This is a bit of a barn find as its been laid up undercover for the last decade. It has rust around the windows as usual but otherwise seems pretty sound.
The interior is also pretty good but like the rest of the car it will need a going over.

Late V12s like this are hard to find as there were not a lot sold new in Australia. This was sold after the Series 3 was discontinued and the XJ40 was in showrooms. As the XJ40 was not offered with a V12 at this time the only way to get the V12 in a sedan was to special order the older Series 3 V12. Not many people did.

This is one of those rare finds that has history from new.
It was delivered new to Mr W.E. Cromby of W.T. Partnership Aust, by Kellow Falkiner PTY LTD, of South Yarra. On the 18/01/1989.
The original registration was DQP - 982.
Records show it was in Melbourne at the 2/10/92 for its 108k service, then in Perth on 18/08/93 for its 132k service.
At one stage in Perth it was registered with the plate, OUR V12, Perth service records are sketchy but an entry from Roadbend Motors shows it was serviced on the 21/05/2001 at 245,228 Ks. It now has 292,000 Ks on the clock which is about right for a car that has been laid up as long as this has.

I haven't tried to get this started yet as it will need careful recommissioning to prevent damage, but it is a very sound vehicle overall with just the rust around the windows to be sorted. The floors and all structure is great, and there is no reason to suspect engine problems.
Leather needs minor work and the wood needs refinishing, but that is just age related and is to be expected in any unrestored car of this type and age.

Overall this is a great find and given the rarity of these cars now and the rapidly rising values this is one of those "once in a lifetime" projects.

The pictures here are as I got the car, since then it has been cleaned and all carpets removed to check the floors, it has a set of the factory mohair over rugs which like the carpets are perfect.

This is my second S3 v12 (I've also had two XJS V12s), my other one was a 1980 Daimler "flat head pre HE", which was a fantastic car to drive. There is nothing like the older Jag V12s, a real old school car with an engine that sounds like a precision aircraft unit and quietly pushes the car along to insane speeds.