Why the XJS?

Find below an older story that I once wrote up which I had not released before:

A couple of years back I decided it was time to get myself a youngtimer for hobby and
leisure purposes. My criteria was a luxurious and comfortable car with a powerful engine from the eighties (or seventies). Furthermore it had to be in good state and of course reasonable affordable. With a good state I mean a car that is instantly useable and that only required minor work or small items for improvement. So definitely not a project car. I understand the pleasure on restoring a car but I very much value driving and experiencing the car as well. Besides that I do have limited time, facilities and capabilities in undertaking car projects. Next I set myself a fixed purchase budget –

with of course extra budget in place for maintenance. Since it was going to be my first classic car (youngtimer) I did not want to spend a huge amount of money. If all went fine and it was meeting my expectations I always could consider to uplift to something different and more expensive. And so the hunt started. This in itself is a enjoyable thing to do. So many cars to explore and to analyze. I’m sure many of you recognize this feeling. The obvious car brands that matched my criteria were Jaguar or Maserati. I always had a weak spot for both brands – thinking about it, perhaps this is where my search criteria came from. The reviews for example a Jaguar XJS were not in their favour; thirsty, rusty, expensive to maintain. Moving on to Maserati, isn’t a biturbo or a quattroporte a great car to own, let alone any other Maserati.  Again and again all the reviews were shouting these type of cars are unreliable, rusty and parts difficult to find or pricy. One should avoid them like the plague. Since I was going to use the car occasional I was not overly worried about the gas consumption or it’s maintenance. So this didn’t hold me back. I only needed to find a decent exemplar. As so many cars and brands popped up, it made me slightly mad. So I made my mind up and choose to pick a Italian brand to narrow down my search options. The reason for this is simple; style. And yes, gran turismo is exactly what I’m after. Since my budget was limited obviously Lamborghini and Ferrari dropped off the list. These cars tend to be more true sport cars rather than being  comfortable driving cars. Nevertheless, without a doubt, great cars to own and use. But for now out of my league.  Maserati always had a strong appeal to me and a biturbo was surely on my target list, but let’s further look around what options Alfa, Fiat and Lancia had to offer me. The Fiats that attracted me was the 130 Coupe or the Dino Coupe. The latter I considered out of the budget. For Alfa it was the GTV or the 164. And for Lancia at first sight it could be a Delta HF integrale but too expensive and to much a sports car. The Thema did not even crossed my mind until I discovered the Thema 8.32. I was immediately hooked by the concept. I admit I was not directly impressed by the sober looks but overtime I started to appreciate it more and more. Even all the horror stories I read could not distract me for having one. Perhaps I got the Stockholm syndrome at an early stage. The car simply ticked all boxes (excuse the pun) for me. Look at that interior! The dashboard! The engine! The options! The electronic gadgets! And all the other small details! All packed in a understated design by Giorgetto Giuguaro. And last but not least, very affordable as for purchasing. During my internet search I ran also into a blog of someone in the Netherlands who was building a replica of the one-off Thema SW 8.32 (Agnelli). I was impressed by this undertaking and became even more intrigued by the 8.32 At that moment I knew for sure I had to have one. After a one year long search and various visits I found one that was meeting my requirements. It was for sale at the Kroymans outlet in Amsterdam which happened to be nearby whereby I work. So during the lunchbreak I had the opportunity to check it out. On my  first inspection the car looked very good and in good condition as far as I could judge. It had also the optional tobacco leather interior by Poltrona Frau, which I considered a must have. Furthermore it had the optional sunroof, optional electronic dampening and the optional electrical back seats. The green color happens to be quite rare as well but it does suite the car very well in my opinion. I definitely would go back for a second visit as this could be the one. On the second inspection I was convinced. I would go back another time and make an appointment to take it out for a test drive. Than the unexpected happened. Kroymans went bankrupt and the car was gone out of sight. I was hugely disappointed as I was so close in finding the car I wanted. A colleague at work, mentioned he was reading a car magazine at the gym which had an article about a Lancia Thema 8.32 which was for sale at Kroymans. He recalled I mentioned this car to him.  I coulnd’t believe it. To bad it was an old magazine and no longer for sale in the book shop.  It turned out later the car was being sold in consignation at Kroymans. The car owner was timely informed and took his car back from the Kroymans showroom. A few weeks later I discovered the owner put the car up for sale on a not so known advert website. I got in contact with him and verified if it was the same car. And It was, interestingly enough he was the son of a garage owner. Without having done a test drive I made

him an offer that included a new APK/MOT and the change of the cam belts. He agreed to it. And so it happened, I was owner of a Thema 8.32. Almost. When they were carrying out the required maintenance and testing for the APK/MOT the car no longer wanted to start and they were having trouble in localizing the fault. I was told if they couldn’t fix it the car deal would be off. Was this going to be bad omen? In the end they found out the problem was caused by a deteriorated hose to the fuel pump. Well, couldn’t that happen for any car reaching the age of almost 25 years? In the end I was glad it was nothing serious and they had fixed it without touching my wallet. Later that week they delivered the car to my house and we finalized the deal. Remarkably I still  had not drove the car. So that evening I drove the car to my parents house were I had arranged a dry parking storage. And what a pleasant drive it was, but far to short. As winter kicked in I had to wait till spring before I could enjoy it again. I decided to enjoy the first year as much as possible and get customized to the car and it’s behaviour. It turned out soon I had bought quite a reliable exemplar. The supporting documentation also showed that at each 10k interval it did had it’s required maintenance at the local dealer where it was purchased. Only the last 15.000 maintenance was not completely clear. I got in touch with the 2^nd owner who imported the car from Germany to the Netherlands and he had the car serviced well, clearly he was an enthusiast as well. Meanwhile I build up some contacts on the forum and attended a few meetings organized by the Dutch Thema enthusiasts. As a result I came in contact with a techie who had experience in maintaining these cars. Exactly Something I was hoping for as I knew soon or later the car required maintenance and I did not want to end up with a overpriced bill from some exclusive car garage. Next I started collecting spare parts and items I could need for future usage or simply just nice to have items.  As I was convinced by the car and enjoyed it so much I knew it was going to stay. As such I invested in it and had the car fully serviced including a fresh pair of cam belts, bearings, tyres, distribution caps and what not. During one of the Lancia Thema meetings I met up with a Dutch guy who lives in France and made an effort to come over in his 8.32 to the Netherlands. He happened to have a identical 8.32 as mine (series 1, green with brown interior). Before I knew it we ended up being good friends. Due to the Lancia Thema forum we also came in contact with some folks who were arranging a yearly car trip to Italy. And so it happened

We were driving along as a team in the 8.32. And what a trip it was, in one week I roughly made 4.000 km and visited many interesting places. Unfortunately I drive the car not so much
as I envisioned but this is mostly caused by the poor wheather conditions overhere and a lack of time. The fact it’s not stored nearby my house does not help either. But if I can drive it I enjoy every
mile in it. The nice thing is you can even take the family with you and go out together for a spin or whatever the occasion might be. And although the car is mostly  in disguise it does happen from time to time it’s being recognized. Those encounters are always interesting and enjoyable moments as they truly appreciate the value of the car. As an example; not so long ago I took the 8.32 to my work and parked it in the garage where they happened to have some construction work going on. When I entered the parking I noticed one of the construction workers was looking closely at my car. When I drove inside he walked along to view it. I had to park it upstairs and when I walked back to the ground floor, he was still standing there and waiting for me. He asked if the Lancia Thema was mine, which I confirmed. It’s one of those rare 8.32’s, isn’t it? Is it a real one? Sure, it’s a true 8.32. And before I knew it I was showing  the car and had an interesting conversation. What a pleasant start of a working day. Looking back over the past years I can only say I had made the best choice that was fitting my needs.

From this story you can read I did mention the XJS specifically. At some point I was really close in buying one but I stepped out as I reckoned it was to much of a gamble. Furthermore I thought a V12 as a first classic car without any knowhow and experience would be to much as well. I guess starting your first "hobby" car with a 8.32 is equally tricky but I considered the 8.32 car more unique and also more under the radar.

As for the XJS I think the real trigger was due to its presence in the movie Cannonball run. In any case I do have always liked them. But after the 8.32 the 400 was added to the stable which I considered equally unique and interesting. There are other interesting cars on my radar but most of them are financially outside of my reach. This isn't the case yet for the XJS. Coincidentally the XJS just hit my path again. More on this in one of the next blogs.