Minneapolis Street Sighting: Jaguar XJS convertible

I normally pass on most Jaguars, but for some reason this XJS grabbed my attention. Maybe it was the fact that it was red, instead of the normal gray or green that I see these in; perhaps it was the fact that this version of XJS is slightly older than the facelifted versions I usually see. Or maybe, it was because I actually saw it at night-time since I had glasses.
Getting back to the subject at hand, I don't see too many pre facelift XJS' anymore. Maybe the older cars aren't as reliable, maybe the older ones got CFC'd like their XJ6 sibling, or maybe the older ones simply aren't as desirable here in the US as much as they are in the UK. Whatever the case is, this bright red 1980s British icon stood out to me like nothing else on the street.
At first glace, this example looked pretty good, with nary a spec of rust nor even a single ding gracing the bodywork. As I inched closer, I half expected to find out that this gorgeous example 1980s prestige was a rusted, haphazardous used-car "bargain", I was pleasantly surprised. Even up close, the condition held steady. Honestly, this car is belonged to very selective group of vehicles that looked as good up close as the appeared from across the street.
Since this version lacked the requisite V12 badging, I can probably be certain that this particular car has one of two 4.0 sixes, which is quite good. Normally, a V12 is the engine associated with this "legendary" Jag; however, along with copious amounts of grunt, the V12 brings unwanted unreliability. While not fast by any means, the six will do the touring job just fine, while not totally destroying your paycehck when it comes time to fill up the gas tank.
I like the earlier cars like this a lot more than the post-1992 versions. The very early cars (1975-1986) look a tad weird to me (probably the wheels and minor details), and the facelifted ones look cheap. This version (1988? to 1991) is just about right. I would gladly drive one of these, be it a coupe of convertible, and just to spite Jaguar fans, I would keep the six cylinder.