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Check out Harry Metcalfe's 1978 Jaguar XJ 5.3 V12 Coupe

Jaguar may have built its business producing luxury sedans, but it also made some superb coupes over the years, from the XK120 through the E-Type, XJS and XJ220 to today's F-Type. The automaker has largely steered clear of turning its four-door models into two-doors, but there was a time when it did exactly that. And Harry Metcalfe, former editor of the British car magazine Evo, just happens to have one in his garage. Based on the Series II XJ sedan, the XJ Coupe was long and elegant – something along the lines of what you might see today in the form of the Mercedes S-Class Coupe, but smaller and built the better part of four decades ago. With only around 10,000 of them made, the pillar-less XJ-C was much rarer than the more iconic E-Type, and even fewer of them packed the 5.3-liter fuel-injected V12 engine. That makes the former Evo editor's ride a rather scarce one indeed, and well worth checking out in his latest video clip.

Looking back on our favorite cars of Mad Men

The second half of the seventh and final season of Mad Men debuted this week, set to cap a run of public and critical acclaim. A decade's worth of interesting cars also made for good television, if you were paying attention. Vehicles didn't often steal the spotlight from Don, Betty, Roger, Joan and the gang, but they added meaningfully to the tone and beauty of the series. We sorted through the wheeled extras from Mad Men's archives, and choose some of our favorites to highlight. The list consists of cars that had at least a small impact on the plot of an episode, though certainly there are worthy gems hiding in just about every street and driving scene. Check out our subjective top five, and then let us know which of the Mad Men cars would be on your list. 1962 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – Season 2 Don Draper's Cadillac Coupe DeVille, all 500 feet of it, shows up in a few seasons of the show, but it's the first appearance that sets the tone. A Cadillac salesman, cut from the same cloth as Draper, asks what Don drives right now. "A Dodge," Don admits. "Those are wonderful if you want to get somewhere," allows the salesman, "this is for when you've already arrived." For a man on the move up corporate and social ladders that's a powerful message, and a pitch-perfect car. 1961 Lincoln Continental – Season 3 The most stylish Lincoln Continental ever is perfect set dressing for the mod show, of course. Though it's interesting that the car isn't cast as dapper Draper's ride, but rather his father-in-law's. Grandpa Gene does what all great grandfathers are bound to: lets his granddaughter Sally drive the big Lincoln while he works the pedals. Generational bond secured, in fine fashion. When you go back through the first three seasons of the show, you'll notice that Continentals show up more than once, too. There's nothing quite like them to evoke the best of the early '60s. 1963 John Deere 110 – Season 3 The only non-standard passenger vehicle on the list, no self-respecting gearhead/Mad Men fan should quibble with the inclusion of the John Deere 110 riding mower. For starters, the Deere is lovely to look at; a miniature version of the American Heartland icon in its green and yellow duds. The 110 appears as if milled from a solid block of steel, just the opposite of today's sleek, plasticky lawn minders (we're scouring Craigslist for one to bring home). The John Deere also has dear ramifications to the plot, too.

E.C.D. Automotive Design gets into the Jaguar restomod game

Florida-based E.C.D. Automotive Design — formerly East Coast Defender — made its bones turning the barely disguised Midlands tractors emerging from Land Rover's Solihull plant into finely detailed Chelsea tractors that cost almost as much as a genuine John Deere (which means a lot, for those unaware of the frightening costs of farm equipment). With its territory well marked and established, ECD decided to expand its offerings to "something that would sit nicely next to one of our existing Land Rover builds and be on a par, but something different, something sporty and quintessentially British." The search began and ended with the Jaguar E-Type. Not only do we know the formula for this, but Jaguar Classic Works just advertised its own adroitness with such builds in showing off the 1968 Series 1 E-Type Roadster that took part in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant. ECD offers a few options Jaguar Classic Works doesn't, though, starting with the same kinds of engine conversions performed on the Land Rovers. The outfitter will be happy to rebuild or source an age appropriate inline-six or V12 and a five-speed manual transmission, warning that the mill "will require higher ongoing maintenance" and "come with leaks and all." Less grubby options are either a GM LT1 6.2-liter V8 with 450 horsepower, shifting through an eight-speed automatic, or an electric conversion using a 450-horsepower Tesla powertrain that provides a range of 200 miles in the city and 140 miles on the highway. All variants get performance suspension and brakes; the ICE versions get a sports exhaust, too. The standard menu of paint and interior options includes 11 historic Jaguar paint colors from the 1960s through the 1980s, and 10 modern colors from the 2023 lineup. Inside, 12 solid hues of Nappa leather can be upgraded with two-tone, hand-tipped, spinneybeck, woven, or distressed treatments to go with the European weave carpeting. Prices start at $299,995, each build taking about 14 months to deliver.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.