The Bottom Of The Snow Pile: A Sad Looking Jaguar XJS

When I was in middle school, probably around 16 years ago, a Jaguar XJS showed up in a parking lot near my friend’s house. It made a lasting impression on me because at the time, it was an absolutely beautiful car with exceptionally rich black paint, a low roof line, sleek body contours, and I’m quite confident that it had a V12 emblem on the back. It proudly announced its luxury and prominent heritage to any car that parked next to it. “Hey Chevy Cavalier, look at me, I’m a fancy Jaaaaguar… Did I mention I have a V12?…. meowww…..” There was something very odd about this car though – it never, ever, ever, moved! It sat in the middle of this big newly paved parking lot, waiting for somebody to drive it home. First it was waiting for weeks, then months….then years….and now decades?  The only time that I saw it move was when it landed in the dirt corner of the parking lot. At the time, I remember thinking “that car looks like it was dragged there with force -ouch!” Was it abandoned? Was it just being stored there until the restoration could begin?  For 17 years? Who knows. The only confirmed fact that we have to work with, is that each winter it becomes the bottom of a very, very large snow pile. Each spring it blooms back into a more sad version of the Jaguar in the corner of parking lot. This car has lived a very sad life, and it is really too bad because its entire deterioration has taken place in the corner of a parking lot.  The world has forgotten about this once beautiful Jaguar, and will likely continue to do so from the looks of it.

Jeremy Nutt

Hi, I'm Jeremy.

10 thoughts to “The Bottom Of The Snow Pile: A Sad Looking Jaguar XJS”

  1. Who in the right mind would let an XJS sit!?! And the 5.3L V12 that they came with was originally designed to be Jaguars Le Mans engine. Huge compression ratios and massive stroke made that car pur like no Siamese cat could.

    1. Ross, I agree it is a sad situation. If I was a smarter teenager, I would have asked about it when it looked good, before it was moved to the dumping ground in the corner of the lot. 🙁

  2. I know it all too well. So sad.
    Might be time to do some ‘digging’?
    Let me rummage around to see if we can see who owns this gem and exactly why it’s still there…decades later!
    Lau~

  3. You know those car wax ads? The ones where they polish a one SF area of some old clunker in a junkyard? Maybe that’s all this car needs!! A little TLC, huh?

    Oh Well, it was worth a try 😉

    Darwin

    1. Hi Thom,
      I know it’s still there as of last week. I’m sure I could find out if it’s for sale, but those cars aren’t worth enough to make fixing this one worth the investment. Pulling the engine and making it into a coffee table would be the best option for this car I think.

      1. Thanks for responding. Where is the car? I’m in southern Indiana. Personally, I wouldn’t mind rebuilding it. I have a few classic cars here.

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