Lynx Eventer (1992) – Into the Wild

As the successor to the Jaguar E-type, the XJS had rather big shoes to fill. Actually a little too big shoes even. The XJS has always remained somewhat in the shadow of its predecessor, although it is a car in itself that has managed to collect a considerable number of enthusiasts over the years. And be honest, doesn’t the XJS get more and more beautiful as the years go by? Although it was quite a modern appearance compared to the E-type in its day, the XJS itself now really embodies an era that is far behind us. Maybe that’s why he’s getting more and more hands together.

The XJS, which was officially called XJ-S for most of its existence, lasted quite a long time. It lasted more than 20 years, partly thanks to various refreshers. The basic recipe remained almost the same all that time and the official choice also remained with a coupe or (later) a convertible. The British company Lynx Engineering, which has been building replicas of classic Jaguars since the early 1970s, saw the potential in a convertible based on the XJS. After all, it wasn’t there in the beginning. It put the saw in the XJS and fitted it with a fabric pop-up roof. That turned out to be quite a success, but Jaguar eventually managed to thwart Lynx’s efforts and Jaguar itself came up with a targa version of the XJS (the XJ-SC) in 1983 and finally released the regular XJS convertible in 1988. Although Lynx could not continue with its convertible conversions, it was not deterred. The result was another conversion for the XJS: the coupé version was made into one shooting brake.

Lynx Eventer.

Somewhere in the first half of the 1980s, the first converted XJS, dubbed Lynx Eventer, saw the light of day. Lynx had done a decent job of it. Behind the B-pillar almost everything was different. There were huge side windows, the roof was extended far back and there was a special hatchback hatch on the back, with two chromed hinges on top of the roof. It looked like the XJS should have been like this from the factory. Another success story, you might think, but the Lynx Eventer remained a pretty obscure creation. Only 67 were reportedly made, of which only 18 were left hand drive. So the car we have in front of us, spotted by AutoWeek forum member 406c, is extremely rare!

The now 31-year-old converted XJS V12 has been in the Netherlands for about ten years now. Whoever imported it to our country in 2013 still holds the keys and we understand why. Although they are somewhat sensitive cars, driving an XJS is an experience. Moreover, this is a very special specimen, which is undoubtedly already worth a lot and will only become more valuable.