Much improved and developed V12 saloon gave long service, built from 1981 to 1991.
The original standard tyre was a 215/70VR15 radial.
In 1979 Jaguar introduced the XJ6 and XJ12 Series 3 alongside the Daimler Sovereign and Double Six Series 3. Although the Series 3 carried much over from the Series 2, Pininfarina had done a brilliant job of updating the car, which now looked much more modern. Unlike its predecessor though, the Series 3 came only in four-door saloon form with the Coupé having been axed in 1977.
The new saloons brought the option of a five-speed manual transmission with the six-cylinder engines, which came in the same 3.4 and 4.2-litre displacements as before. Things ticked over nicely until 1981 when the V12 engine got redesigned cylinder heads (HE, or High Efficiency) for better efficiency. There was little in the way of development of the XJ and Sovereign Series 3 and by 1987 they had been phased out in favour of the XJ40. However, the Jaguar XJ12 remained in production until 1991, with the Daimler Double Six being axed in 1992.
