Had a 1987 XJS up to 120+ out on, appropriately, Racetrack Road, back in the day. The mirrors started vibrating and it felt like it was going to float away. So I backed off. Never had a hankering to push it after that.
Had a similar experience in a 74 XKE V12, with the top down in winter, on the Blue Ridge Parkway in southern Virginia. Hardly anybody on the road in the dead of winter, since large sections tend to be closed due to snow drifts.
It was an experience, lol. Beautiful car, beautiful girlfriend sitting beside me on the console, her beautiful, nutty mom driving, bright sun reflecting off snowy fields, road dry as a bone and zero traffic.
My favorite car for a decade. I had a few XJS aged from 85-88. If they had low mileage, at 142 it was so quiet and smooth you could hold a conversation and pass the caviar. The car was very heavy, and sat down low at high speeds. The only sound was the swoooooshing wind. Nothing scary, and in complete control. Only available in a 3 speed automatic. A Vette back then at 130 was so light it felt like if you sneezed you would wipe out.
“Had a 1987 XJS up to 120+ out on, appropriately, Racetrack Road, back in the day. The mirrors started vibrating and it felt like it was going to float away.”
Not a good assessment of the XJS. In 1986 I had a BMW 528i running at 140 mph(220 km/h). That was on the Autobahn. Car handled the rod like it was on welded rails. Same went for a Mercedes 300D with an automatic at 200 km/h.
“Had a 1987 XJS up to 120+ out on, appropriately, Racetrack Road, back in the day. The mirrors started vibrating and it felt like it was going to float away.”
Not a good assessment of the XJS. In 1986 I had a BMW 528i running at 140 mph(220 km/h). That was on the Autobahn. Car handled the road like it was on welded rails. Same went for a Mercedes 300D with an automatic at 200 km/h.
Never drove an XJS, but I've had a car suddenly "float" on me well over a hundred on the straight. Freaky feeling. When I eased off the gas I felt like I was backing away from the edge of a cliff.
It was a dark and stormy night, literally... on the interstate west of Little Rock, Arkansas in the winter of ‘65... (I know, ...we were hungry, just barely alive...)
One 1964 Austin Healey 3000 MK III Special, 3 Weber two-barrels, 6 cylinders, 4-speed with electric overdrive, two friends in attendance (one riding shotgun, one in the jump seat), 135 mph on the speedo and the rear end started to get buggy. Decided to slow down to 75 mph at which speed the rear broke loose and I did a triple 360 down the east bound lane. Ended up on the median strip. This was a new section of intertate at the time and the median was wet sand - no grass. Some how my mates and I got the car off of the median and onto the highway. I got up to 35 mph and the front end was shaking like a mixmaster. Pulled off at the nearest service station to fuel and check the suspension; I knew I had probably damaged the struts and it was going to be an expensive repair. Everything looked OK? Couldn’t figure it out until I looked at the wire wheels. They were loaded with damp sand. A quick spray with the station’s water hose and we were on our way.
Then there was the time at Daytona in Buddy Baker’s Gray Ghost, 195 mph the day before the Fire Cracker 400. But thats another story...