Finally! My 07 Vanden Plas has the very cool (and very warm) 4 zone climate control which cam standard on the Super V8 and could be ordered on XJR's VDP's and possibly other trim versions. Apart form the silly useless space under the center armrest (instead of a storage bin, there's room for a credit card and a pack of gum, but only if you get the 5 sticks pack.) This is because Jaguar squeezed an evaporator, fan and supporting components in the center console.

Now, while I am really pleased to have found a car with this setup, and the extra .7 lbs of refrigerant in ac system helps cool down a black on black car in the summers in North Carolina, one other drawback is the way Jaguar brought back the spring loaded cup holder on the front of the armrest, since the sliding setup didn't work on this setup. Its slightly better than the X300/X308 was, but very slightly. I bought this car with the cup holder hinge broken on one side, and even though I treat it with kid gloves its only a matter of time until it breaks off in my hand one day.

I have been hinting for replacements for over 2 years with little to show for it. This is due to the rarity of the option, the unavailability of spares, and probably also that Super V8 and 06 Portfolio cars are rarely parted out. I think I found a full console in the UK that would have cost me 6 or 700 bucks. Thats a pricey cup holder. Then, Just this week while scrolling through yet more "console and parts" section, seeing lots of broken, nasty X308 armrest/console lids, it SEE IT... These are New Old Stock, and appear to be Genuine Jaguar - He has them in most or all interior colors, and even has some of the more common sliding versions of the cars without rear climate control. The Black one I needed even comes with white or black stitching - I almost got the white thread, but realized it would not match the panel directly behind the lid. It does NOT say if these are true leather parts, but if they ARE genuine Jaguar they are a steal. If they are aftermarket vinyl, they are still a good value. Sorry for the large-ish pics. I was anxious to let folks know we can finally get these. Do your eBay searches using text from the listings I show in the last few Pics.

I took screen clips of the text in the listings to assist people searching for these. Use that text in your eBay search. At $80 including shipping these are a steal.












As the last picture indicates, these appear to be genuine Jaguar supplier parts, brand new. For $80 shipped? I would buy them all I I could, just to have them going forward. when I could sell them for the $300-500 the markets would dictate and retire, a guy worth, uh... lots of money. lol!

Anyway I hope this helps anyone who needs one of these as much as I did.

 

Great value, a few years ago there was a UK seller selling a few of these as new old stock, I bought one as my cup holder was a bit dodgy, a few days later someone on the forum from the US was asking about where to find one, I sent him the link at the time and he bought one and had it shipped, another happy person.

 

Ooh thanks, I've been after one of these for a while as the catch on mine is broken on one side, so sometimes comes open by itself. Even better I'm in the UK as is the seller, so it's just over £45 GBP shipped. Ordered!

Thank,
Ben

 

I wound up finding an entire console, just to take the lid off and split the two covers to make one "somewhat" functional one.

Ordered one of these last night.

Wound up costing me only $7.00 - thanks eBay bucks!!!!

Thanks for the tip!

 

I received mine today, pretty quick delivery!

It has a date stamp of 2005, but as described it's brand new. It has a slightly different surface finish in that my original 2004 model has a smooth finish and the new one is a 'crinkled' type of finish, but the colour seems to match and in fact the 'crinkled' effect is the same as the centre console around the J-gate anyway.

My original:



New version:



Sorry the photos are a bit rubbish, it was dark and I took the photos by the warm glow of the interior light!

Ben

 

Looks great Ben! I'm jealous- mines going to take another few weeks, but shipping was fair, and I am happy to wait a bit.

So is it OEM Jaguar original as I thought? Leather, not pleather?

The hinge breaking on one side seems to be a common failure. That's my issue and while I welded it with UV Light activated glue, it didn't hold very long.

Think I might order a 2nd charcoal one as a spare. I've had this fear of when the cup holder finally goes, there are literally no spares out there for Rear Climate cars! I like the idea of having a backup.

 

Tried to enter the website listed on paper and did reach them.

 

Are you sure it's just not wear that changed the surface?
My center console is worn almost completely smooth by now.
I don't think it started that way?
.
.
.

 

I couldn't say for certain whether it's Pleather or real leather to be honest - it certainly looks real enough though.
I would think it highly improbably that there would be a second manufacturer of these things that was producing them in the same era as the originals, so my thought it that it's likely its a batch of New Old Stock items from the same OEM that have been discovered in a warehouse somewhere.
When I swap mine over hopefully in the next few days I'll compare all the features including the manufacturers label (it doesn't say Jaguar, it has a 'PC' logo and description in German) and see if they're the same.

I did wonder whether the finish of my original had smoothed over time, but it's so even I don't think that this is the case. Its the same smoothness as the leather on the door cards, so I don't know if they changed the design over the years or something.

Ben

 

Looks great, but I believe it is Pleather. Most of the covering on the door cards is pleather. The leather on the cars was a smooth leather and really advertised as roush smooth leather surface coverings. , but the pleather is textured (like on the J-gate) . Still one of the best interiors Jag produced. Just listen to a guest the first time they get into your car. Those arm rests are a steal.

 

Right, I've swapped mine over now.

There are two different materials used on the centre console, the crinkled finish and the smooth finish.

I think the smooth finish is genuine leather:


The crinkled material has a mesh backing:


Both side by side - original 2004 model on the left, replacement 2005 model on the right:


The manufacturers labels are similar but not identical:


Interestingly my original is described as 'Autolux':


Whereas the newer replacement is described as 'leder' (leather), which would perhaps suggest that in fact my original was pleather (if that's what 'autolux' means) vs the leather of the new one:


It was too difficult to remove the screw caps without causing damage so I didn't remove the plastic trim to check the back-side of the material to double-check.
It seems to look fine either way with the new one fitted:



I scrubbed all the stitching of the console whilst it was out - over the years it had gone gray with dirt but comes up nice and bright with a scrub with a stuff brush and some creme cleaner.

Ben

 

Ben,

Awesome.

Two questions.

How many bolts and where are they to remove the console?

How does the shifter handle get removed?

Thanks

 

Well. That is a shame. My brother owns leather Restoration business, so we have an expert on hand to verify materials. As in previous series, XJ6, X300, X308, etc., Jaguar internationally used more genuine leather bits on Vanden Plas, Super V8, and XJR's than base models. In fact, as you go up in trim levels, we have unofficially documented all these replacement bits. Much like Porsche, who will leather wrap just about any interior component, a la'carte, or in packages, Jaguar had an extensive materials shop, giving a Bentley type experience for substantially less money.

Just from XJ8-L to Vanden Plas, of which I have owned both in same color combo, I can confirm these pieces went from an admittedly high quality vinyl to a soft leather, in some cases adding leather quality upgrades:

Seats: From a heavy, but firmer and stiffer leather to a softer, "ruched" (gathered) leather.

Console: sides, top, and back sections, except for durability's sake, the top facing panel around the shifter housing (easily spotted by the deeper consistent pattern grain) and, for some reason, the bottom panel under the back section. I can only assume that was to handle kicks from rear passengers, if not, then a mystery.

Door panels: the center padded section behind armrest grab handle, and the armrest itself.

One bit of misinformation propagated by Jaguar itself was the top dash panel. Brochure from the time says the panel is "stitched leather" yes, they added a double row of stitching on the leading edge but thankfully the most sun exposed panel in the car is a very thick and durable man made material. I doubt it was intentionally misrepresented. More likely a mistaken internal communication, if we want to be generous.

From day one in the VDP, I immediately loved the obvious soft leather on door armrests compared to XJ8L, and love running my fingertips lovingly over the top edge of the console above the touch screen.

I THINK all cars got leather pouches behind front seats, but all cars got vinyl on the sides of the seats. This is such quality material it closely matches even the soft ruched leather in my car.

And here is where I am let down: To my knowledge, all cars have leather center armrests, front and rear. I have not examined a base car, so I cannot say that's not an exception. But I have to believe any car optioned with 4 zone rear climate control must have had leather armrests.

Sigh. Maybe I can pull the cupholder mechanism and swap with mine, or... refinish the brand new lid in real leather? Just a huge let down, but I will reserve judgement until it actually arrives. Hopefully before 2021. Ebay has no tracking, but it said "by February 17th!"

One final comment (yay, right?) I am intrigued by the variation in wood veneers across different cars. Sure, it's a natural material, but I have seen downright horrible wood grains, looking more like a blotched, diseased creature, all the way to absolutely stunning grain, burl and birdseye patterns, alond with stain from reddish brown to blond/black. Along with shopping exterior color, l always consider the veneers when assesing Jaguars, because of this huge range. It's very notable on XK8"s with the huge "Spitfire Wing" wood dash panel facing occupants. This is where Jaguar falls shy of a "Bentley-esque" experience. It sure makes each car unique though!

 

You are correct.

The smooth is high quality Autolux leather and the textured finish is Ambla Leather which is synthetic PVC. Both were used on these cars.

 

Removing the console is easy. Remove the wood trim around the J-gate (prise it up from the edge under the ashtray when it's open), then there are 2 x Torx bolts underneath. Remove the two air-vents at the rear bottom of the console (they can be prised out by getting your fingers underneath the bottom), there is a Torx bolt each side.
Then pull out the rear climate panel and disconnect everything.
The centre console then lifts up and out.

Swapping the armrest was a little tricky getting the bracket in position, but it just needs a bit of care to follow how it's all bolted in. There are 5 smaller Torx bolts holding everything in position (the fifth one is centrally mounted to the rear, holding the black metal bracket in place and easy to miss).



Interesting. I wonder on what basis the leather and fake leather were chosen, i.e. on what spec or model year? My car is the Super V8, maybe that's why it had the genuine leather original armrest?

Ben

 

I wanted to offer a thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I suffer from the dreaded broken cup holder on a console rear climate control car (‘06 VDP) and nearly gave up hope of finding an source for a new console cover until someone pointed me toward this thread. The source only had “champagne” as a color closest to the alleged “mocha” in my vehicle’s interior, so I ordered that from the firm in England. The photos on the various posts were great as well. I do enjoy dipping into this forum from time to time if I have issues I need to research. Thanks again to all.

P.S. I agree with Blairware re the storage capacity of the console. I just keep a couple of cards of hearing aid batteries in there! (In the neither here nor there department, I lived down the road from Wake Forest in North Raleigh off Falls of the Neuse and Six Forks in the ‘70s. I enjoyed that area.)

 

Eliot,
Too bad we missed each other. Ive been in this nape of the neck of the woods since 2004. We have another X350 owner on the forums in Cary. That's just the ones I know about, but these cars never sold in the numbers Jaguar hoped, so its interesting to see a few were close, assuming you had a Jag when you lived here.

Mine being a VDP has what is almost certainly leather. I am guessing the base cars were pleather, and maybe the XJ8L, which I thought was leather, but as the vinyl was such a high grade it not super easy to tell in some spots.

Told the vendor to feel free to send me a backup one if he sells a big number from this thread. Not holding my breath though.

Autolux huh? sounds like a juice blender- lol!

 

John: I'm guessing as a VDP mine has leather on the console, but it's not a big deal to me. If the color of what I ordered (champagne) is slightly off, I can always have it dyed, but I first need to get the package and see. I am more interested in having a proper cup holder than an absolute exact match on the cover.

Sadly, I was not a Jag driver when I lived in Raleigh. I had Volvos for years (they wreck real well), and only got my first Jag in 1998. It was an XJ40 with about 30,000 on it from the proverbial little old man in Miami who got too old to drive it. Next came the '97 X300L which gave me an appreciation for the extra leg room in the back. Then I picked up the VDP in the attached photos in June of 2016 just before retiring. It again came from the proverbial little old in this case lady, who drove it the six months a year she was in DC and not in Palm Springs. My '97 was barely running so I sold it to Peter Crespin and he got it back into daily driver shape. I don't know if he's on this list but he is on Jag-lovers and edits the JCNA magazine. Nice gent. Note the vanity tag on my car. I've had it on all the Jags I've owned.

Cheers.

Eliot Brenner

 

Sorry for the really extended post. Your enthusiasm for the marque got me into the subject matter. One way I describe my love of Jaguars is that they allow me, through the miricle of depreciation, to drive a truly wealthy mans car, and enjoy pleasures I would otherwise be unable to afford. The biggest part is fixing them myself, which I have always done, but the Forum and YouTube have added to my arsenal of tools in a big way. The only work I cannot do is that which requires a lift, and perhaps heavy gear such as what you might need to pull a subframe out of one of these. Other than that, I literally never pay for more than parts, and even there the internet provides!

An XJ40 is a perfect starter Jag - or it was at one time. Many a $1500 XJ40 tempted me while I was still driving a lot of Japanese cars. I did so mostly for economy reasons, as they don't break and can be cheap to own. But as I got older I thought, why am I scrimping on my own level of automotive joy? My dad had a Mark IX in the 60's bought from a super wealthy client and it was stone cold gorgeous in a green so dark it looked black in the shade. My freinds all asked "Is that your dad's Rolls Royce? Nice kids but somewhat uncultured. I could SEE them mistaking it for a Bentley, but a Rolls? Preposterous, LOL!

Around 2001 or so I realized the error of my ways and started correcting it. With a 1998 XJ8 Vanden Plas in Saphire Blue with Ivory Leather. Loved it. It was a salvage title, I got it cheap and you know what broke on it? Nothing. Ever. Wait... I lie: The trunk opening solenoid failed and I replaced it. Thats it, over 70k miles I put on it. Now emboldened I got an 06 XJ8L - I agree Volvos crash well. So do X350 and X358 XJ's. Don't try driving one at 75 MPH into the back of a stopped truck with no lights on on 540 - new outer loop for 440 since your days in the area. I literally exploded the front of the aluminum monocoque. so badly the trunk lid was misaligned. But I got off with a bruised rib from the pre-tensioned seat belt, which DID pre-tension with its pyrotechnic charge. Airbag worked like a charm. I stood on the shoulder, all charged with adrenaline and keep looking at myself, trying to figure out how it was that I was alive. The fuel rail must have broke, and started a small fire on top of the engine. That tends to make you get out of the car. Quickly. I went back for my phone to call my wife and remark that I was alive. This pic and the one of it burning illustrates my amazement.


Thats thin ribbon of allumimun on the right side of pic is the remains of the hood.


Allowed to continue burning the aluminum Jaguar's end up a pile of ash. It literally burns away. I was more upset WATCHING my baby burn than about anything else that night.

This is not one of mine, but a good example of what happens if you don't extinguish an aluminum car fire. The UK cars have an extinguisher option that we don't seem to have.


On the Jaguar Marque.

My brother in Virginia has at least a half dozen Jags at any time, and while he could afford a new XJ, F-Type or whatever he wants, he tends to buy "interesting" cars. He has a Series III XJ6, two XJS's and one XJ-S (the XJ-S was re-branded XJS during the final years of it's 20 year run. They're all V-12's though he had a 95 Convertible XJS with the AJ-16 engine. My favorites are two extremes: His 1961 Mark IX, a nostalgia trip to our youth, and his XJ-13 replica that is no replica body over a Volkswagen Beetle chassis. It's an all aluminum racing tub with fun stuff like TWO 6 piston calipers on each front wheel and a 450 HP 5.3 liter V12 amidships. He could have gone wilder with the power, but the car weighs under 1900 lbs soaking wet. It is intense to drive to put it mildly. He used 6 double intake throttle bodies to get the look of the velocity stacks on the original.


He also has a personally signed piece of hardwood by Norman Dewis when he was here 10 or 12 years ago. Norman has since passed in 2019, but he will always be associated with the XJ-13 - being as he rolled it at high speed into a muddy field. (Climbed under the dashboard and held on for dear life - and didn't even mention it to his wife, who saw it in the newspaper afterwards.)

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/art...y-norman-dewis

I apologize for going so far off topic, but seriously - it is hard NOT to get worked up about this thing. Consider, with the Ford Vs. Ferrari movie out currently - Jaguar having had an amazing set of victories with the C and D-types at Le mans, created this car to do more of the same. It's entire thrust was to take the V12 to Le mans and the v12 was to take the Mulsane Straight at record speeds. It was found to be behind Fords GT40 - but given time and the kind of money Ford was spending? Who knows? As I understand it Le mans rules changed for 1966 limiting this class to 3 Liters, so Jaguars 5 Liter V12 was off the table. The most beautiful car to never go racing.

https://www.motor1.com/features/2294...otor1-legends/

This is not my brothers car, but a similar reproduction. I believe his is as nice, or possibly nicer. He has maybe 200k invested, but considering the original is priceless - there is only ONE car, and there never was or will be another. People have TRIED to put a price on the one Jaguar Heritage Trust has, but how can you? 50 million? Who knows. and it isn't museum level at all - its actually a bit rough since they take it all over and drive it whenever.

https://coolmaterial.com/rides/this-...-in-the-1960s/

 

Assuming you are happy with your current hinge and spring mechanism, you can easily replace the lid itself, keeping the original hinge/spring setup without removing the entire console. I am going to do it the long way, because I feel like the spring is weak on my original lid, and I would like to renew that as well. But for those so inclined, you can take the lid off the spung and do a quick swap. I removed my old lid to (unsuccessfully) work on the semi-broken cupholder several times.

Use a pic to remove these 2 covers, and the 2 screws under them. Slide them lid off the hinge. Reverse to install new lid.