1990 Jaguar XJR-S 6.0-Litre V12 'Monaco' by PBB Design

Between 1992 and the early 2000s, Paul Bailey’s Bristol-based company, PBB Design, offered a series of modifications for the XJ-S under the name Monaco, completely changing the car’s look and character. Built in tiny numbers, it was one of the better-designed, modified examples of Jaguar’s big GT that were prevalent at the time.

Following a career in the aircraft industry, Bailey moved to Bristol-based Glenfrome Engineering, which produced lengthened five-door and open versions of the Range Rover, plus a futuristic design based on the SUV called the Facet. It also experimented with a long wheelbase version of the XJ-S. While Paul had long admired the XJ-S in terms of its dynamics, its angular styling had never impressed him – so he penned his own version ensuring the changes would be possible. “There’s no point in dreaming up a design that couldn’t be built,”  he said in the April 1992 issue of 'Jaguar Quarterly'; “I wanted my car to be exactly as I drew it.”

His design included a longer, rounder nose that featured a downturned oval grille, and much wider wheel arches front and back to cover huge alloys. The glass-fibre panels simply attached to the car’s bodywork, requiring no structural changes, although Bailey had considered producing them in steel. He even involved Park Sheet Metal – which produced many of Jaguar’s own concepts, including the first XJ220 – during the early stages of the project. However, the metal around the arches had to be cut away, along with a little around the headlight area to make room for larger light pods where Bailey planned to use small projector lamps by Bosch. The bonnet was also new, again made from composite, and required a redesign of its hinge mounting due to the lower rake of the front. The result was a handsome, modern car that still harked back to Jaguar’s past, “There is probably more ‘spirit of the E-Type’ in the PBB than in anything built yet,” was Jaguar Quarterly’s 1992 view.

It wasn’t a cheap conversion, though, since the body-kit alone cost £24,500 when fitted at PBB Design’s Bristol premises. This did include handsome 17'' split rims from Compomotive, plus a suspension package developed by handling experts, Harvey Bailey Engineering. PBB Design was also able to offer various drivetrain upgrades, including a Rob Beere Engineering-developed 7.3-litre V12, and a totally bespoke interior that featured better-quality leather for the seats, a suede-covered dashboard and plush carpets.

Unsurprisingly, at this price only a handful were made. The consensus is 12, mixed between coupés and convertibles, V12s and straight-sixes, but this can’t be confirmed. What also comes as no surprise is that the Sultan of Brunei was said to be a customer (as he had been at Glenfrome), purported to have bought the first two production examples of the Monaco.

Sadly, Bailey wound up PBB Design in 2001 following a heart attack and sold the moulds for the Monaco to a Texas-based engineering firm.

The car presented here has a story to tell in two parts: its first incarnation was as the very first Monaco example, produced as a prototype by PBB Design ( c.1991) and was used as the company’s ‘poster car’ for numerous magazine shoots in the early 1990s. The most famous of which was probably for Performance Car later morphing into Harry Metcalfe’s ‘EVO’) in 1992, which gathered together a real ‘who’s who’ of Jaguar design engineers and their cars of the time – there was Paul Bailey in this particular car, William Towns in his Railton Claremont, Laurence Pearce in his Lister XJ-S and Paul Hands in his Hyper XJ-S.

Subsequently, this very special car was sold to its first owner, understood to have been in the Scottish oil industry, and later acquired by its next owner, based in High Wycombe, who would go on to keep it for the next 22 years. The original car used as the PBB prototype had been a standard X-JS V12 and, by the late 1990s was feeling a bit underwhelming, so in 1999, the owner approached Paul Hands about updating the car’s specification to a bit closer to the high-performance examples PBB were currently producing. The decision was made to extract all the original PBB elements, source a newer, later-production Jaguar and rebuild it to the same exacting standards, all done by one of the best in the business, Paul Hands. The car chosen to receive this expert treatment was a low-mileage, fully serviced 1990 Jaguar XJR-S 6.0-litre (SAJJSAES3BB170057), an example of the final evolution of the Jaguar XJ-S, hand-built at JaguarSport at Bloxham, the high-tech facility that had been home to XJ220 production.

The JaguarSport XJR-S may have looked like its production counterparts but differed immensely with many parts unique to the model and, of course its 6.0-litre V12 engine. The engine was rated at 318bhp and was 700cc larger than the previous 5.3-litre V12. A modified intake system and a low-loss true dual exhaust system was part of the car’s advanced specification. The suspension was further developed by TWR with increased coil spring rates and the Bilstein shocks, front and rear, were specially tuned for the XJR-S. Only 115 were built in right-hand drive.

The transformed car was then routinely serviced by Paul Hands and Hyper for the following decade and more, receiving, in May 2000, an uprated Hyper 3-speed clutch less manual gearbox (costing £1,650), said to transform the driving performance. Silverstone Auctions have chatted at length to Paul Hands, and he recalled the car and its long-time owner immediately, confirming that he did the transformative rebuild of it and the subsequent servicing. There is a Valuation Report/Certificate written by him and numerous invoices for servicing in the accompanying history file. Present also are the original book-pack, service booklet and paperwork relating to the XJR-S that was utilised, helping verify the mileage. The car was last fully serviced at Jaguar specialists Powerbell Services of Taplow in May 2022 at 58,763 miles and is said to drive and perform as one would expect.

If you’ve ever hankered for a Jaguar XJ-S, why not choose one with a fascinating backstory and unique appeal, conceived in the heyday of XJS design evolution.