What engine was planned for this project: AJ-6 or V12? All replacement projects were planned to receive the engine of the XJ-40 at its launch: the AJ-6 3.6. The XJ40 chassis was unable to accomodate the V12 before 1991 and the structure required a considerable adaptation. Each longitudinal beam had to be moved 8mm away from the center to accomodate the V12, and later the all-new AJ-V8.

Of the two projects, one with a design close to the DS420 and the other close to the XJ40, which was your favorite? The more massive car was my favorite, as it retained the unique Daimler Limousine style. Even today, the DS420 is used as an official car around the world. All other limousines are just stretched sedans.

Was working with Geoff Lawson easy? Was he a demanding leader? Working with Geoff was great. He was a relaxed person who was easy to work with.He was particularly motivating and challenging for designers, trying to get the best out of themselves in line with their skills and abilities. He was a great artist himself and that set the bar very high for us.

His role from 1984 to 1990 was easier: Jaguar was experiencing a real renaissance under the leadership of John Egan and was privatized in 1984. We established the Jaguar engineering center in 1987 and the design studio received new equipment, it was very motivating.

However, Ford bought Jaguar in 1990 and Geoff's role evolved significantly. Instead of being the head of design, he was just one of many heads of design, others scattered around the world in different Ford studios. Thus the new projects he worked on were in competition with other designers. I resigned in 1990, so I was unable to make up an idea for myself, but Nick Hull's book "Jaguar Design: a story of style" clearly explains how life changed for Geoff in 1990 and how he had to deal with it. To me it seemed too stressful.

These drawings look very promising. Why was the project not completed? This is the easiest question to answer: there was no investment made to finance a replacement for the DS420! The XJ40 absorbed the entire budget, a 100 million GBP loan from the British Government. For example, the XJ40 thet Geoff asked me to work on could not see the light of day due to lack of financing. Obviously, the coupe was much less expensive to release than the limousine, and because there was nothing left for it in the chest the successor of the DS420 would never see the light of day.

Thank you very much for all this valuable information and for your very friendlyparticipation.

The pleasure is mine. I can't wait to receive the next issue of Jaguaristes!

All of Cliff Ruddell's work can be found on his website, which even offers you some examples of his work: www.cliff-ruddell.co.uk.

[this translation was based on Google translate, and "cleaned up" by myself (hjt - webmaster).]