1985 Jaguar Sovereign

A rare opportunity to buy an exceptional Jaguar. This is a very fine example of a 4. 2L Series 3 Sovereign and I am confident you will struggle to find one better. I bought the car in late 2021 from a renowned Jaguar specialist who had already sold it twice before. Having little mechanical experience I was looking for the best possible to avoid the need of repairs.
In my opinion she is the best colour combination of Regent Grey with Saville Grey hide.
Huge history file to support the displayed mileage of 29, 500
The previous owner spent a fortune addressing the common “lack of use” problems that these cars suffer with. Invoices are present for over £22, 000.
She starts with a single flick of the key as you would expect from a car of this quality and runs beautifully. Both interior and exterior are in fabulous condition. The leather smells wonderful and still looks new.
She is fitted with air conditioning and a rare factory fitted sunroof, electrically operated of course. An aftermarket immobilizer has been fitted and I have obtained an additional spare fob for this. The period radio has been replaced with a more modern CD player. The original is still present but I have no way of testing whether it still works.
The car will be sold with the original steering wheel that is pictured. I purchased the Mota Lita wheel to give my legs a little more room but in all honesty it does not look right on the car.
Since being bitten by the Jaguar bug in 2021 my plans have changed radically and I am planning on building a replica XK120. So the extra garage space would be appreciated but not essential. I'm open to sensible offers but am happy to keep the car so emphasis is on sensible.
I purchased the car with just over 27, 000 miles and it is still under 29, 500. So my use has been very sparing. The one exception to this I did take her from Chelmsford over to Gaydon for the Jaguar Breakfast Club meeting - a round trip of 260 fault free miles. Effortless motorway cruising. Difficult to believe I was in a car nearly 40 years old. Which reminds me that she will have her 40th birthday early 2025 so will benefit from historic status with DVLA meaning no road tax.
The only fault that I can think of is that the trip computer does not work.
I'm a private seller so not interested in swapping or part exchanging or international shipping - sorry.
The vehicle is available for viewing in Chelmsford Essex. Please contact me through Car & Classic. I am the 5th owner of the vehicle. The car was purchased new by the Lancashire Chemical Company for a director or senior exec who then appears to have taken it with him when he retired. About 20 years later it was part exchanged at a Volvo dealership with only 15, 000 miles showing on the odometer. It was then acquired by renowned Jaguar specialist Robert Hughes. Check his website and you will see the advert that I responded to is still there. Robert then sold the car to a famous classical musician and conductor and continued to maintain and run the car when the owner was out of the country. Hughes bought the car back when his client permanently transferred to Vienna for work. The car was then sold to the owner prior to me. He obviously loved the car very much indeed as he spent thousands on its maintenance and future proofing. This including an engine rebuild following diagnosis of a head gasket problem. A decision was taken to replace the cylinder head as well at this time and the opportunity to upgrade to larger inlet valves was taken. He also took the car to KWE Jaguar Specialists and had it cavity wax injected and the underseal renewed. They also attended to issues with the fuel system. Both tanks now work perfectly. When the gentleman lost his storage for the vehicle, Hughes bought it back once again. Despite the extensive maintenance history and being sold by a premium dealer I still took the precaution of having an RAC comprehensive inspection. There were no findings to discourage me from buying the vehicle. The report is available in the history file for prospective purchasers to view.
In my ownership it has lived in a dry garage, fed a staple diet of Shell V Power and been used sparingly on dry days. Unfortunately I discovered a small leak of coolant from one of the core plugs situated between the spark plugs. I had this replaced by a local mechanic who I think may have disturbed a repair in the head, resulting in a further leak. I had the option of getting someone to attempt a further welding repair but took the decision that it was a premium vehicle and the job needing doing right. So I found a local specialist who happened to have a head in stock and had it replaced.