Lynx Eventer

By the mid-1970s, the Jaguar E-Type was getting a bit long in the tooth, despite several facelifts, upgrades, and the addition of a 5.3L V12 engine. Consumers were demanding something more up-to-date, so in 1975 Jaguar responded with the XJ-S Coupe. The legendary E-Type was a tough act to follow, and instead of a two-seat sports car, the XJ-S was a fully-fledged, four-seat Grand Tourer.

Flying buttresses in front of flying buttresses?

Although the XJ-S was designed and promoted as a four-seater, space was in reality fairly slim. What was one to do if one wanted more flexibility and more luggage space? The only variant of the XJ-S on the horizon was the Convertible, so come 1982, enter Lynx with their Eventer.

A perfect blend of practicality and frivolity.

I wonder if those roof bars will take standard Thule attachments?

Lynx, founded in 1968, had been working with Jaguar products for years, including creating their own version of the legendary D-Type. With each car built to a customer’s exact specification, and taking up to 14 weeks to complete by hand, it may be little wonder that only about 67 Eventers were built. However, because they could be modified from either a brand new XJ-S, or a customer’s existing vehicle, each variant of XJ-S had at least one example of Eventer built. Although most used the familiar V12, there were also 6-cylinder versions and even the XJR-S. In 1992, the updated XJS was launched, and shortly thereafter came the updated Eventer.

Note the updated tail lights and alloy wheels.

Although XJS production ended in 1995 after nearly 20 years, the final Eventer wasn’t completed until 2002. Now, most are in the hands of (possibly eccentric) collectors, but if you’re looking for a performance vehicle with true grand touring capability, you can’t do much better than this.

Images courtesy Jaguar and CARRTEC, who are currently selling the beautiful 1987 Eventer pictured above, with only 4840km!