Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine has teamed up with our heritage partners, The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, to track the human stories behind one of Jaguar's best-selling model ranges that was in production for nearly a quarter of a century!

Launched in 1975 as the successor to the legendary E-type, the XJS celebrates 50 years this year. So, buckle up — we’re going to explore the highs, lows, and lasting impact of Jaguar’s misunderstood masterpiece: the XJS.

On this episode, we speak to Barrie Thrussell. He arrived at Jaguar from Morris, where he reached the Global Aftersales Director position before leaving to take on other responsibilities. He then returned to the UK Operations Director role under Nick Scheele. From proving-ground tests to fine-tuning the car’s refinement and handling, Barrie was at the heart of the engineering effort that turned Jaguar’s bold grand tourer into a production reality and ensured its ongoing quality development when in production, as well as educating the dealerships on what the model offered at that time. As we mark 50 years of the XJ-S, Barrie joins us to share his stories from inside Jaguar during one of its most fascinating eras.