1969 Jaguar XJ6 sales brochure

My admiration for the Series I (1969-73) Jaguar XJ6 is no secret. You really only need to look at the thing to understand why, but the XJ is also the subject of one of the crown jewels of my collection of automotive sales brochures.

This stunningly photographed, obsessively detailed, ingeniously laid out, and expensively produced piece dates to 1969 and was used across all European markets to introduce Jaguar’s latest to the world. Like the car itself, it really is lovely.

Glossy!
Enter the private world of the Jaguar XJ6 From the text: "[This] catalogue goes into such detail...to offer the nearest thing to direct experience. For it is only by getting into the car, by feeling how comfortable it is, by seeing how safe, how considered it is item by item, that you enter the private world of the Jaguar XJ6. In this catalogue you can almost do just that. Afford half a morning to go over the car itself, that would be better still. And then your catalogue would not be a substitute for direct experience, but a reminder of it—a map of the private world of the Jaguar XJ6."
A Jaguar crouched and ready to pounce... Grr!
This is the introductory catalog for the XJ6 worldwide, so it cleverly uses two types of paper in two sizes: the wide, glossy pages for photos, with narrower, matte pages interspersed between for text in English...
...French and Italian...
...and German. Predictably, the German text is much more matter-of-fact than the English. I don't read French or Italian, but it would be interesting to know if and how the text was changed in those translations as well.
Take a moment to bask in the magnificence of our tour guide to the private world of the XJ6. Also magnificent: the caption for this photo: "One test of a smooth ride: that your passenger can varnish her nails, and leave the varnish bottle on top of the dashboard facia."
The first of several dizzyingly wonderful diagrams.
...Followed immediately by these graphs comparing the performance of the XJ's 2.8- and 4.2-litre inline sixes.
Whew, all this data makes me need a nap! Thank god for reclining seats!
This diagram adds a groovy dose of '60s color to show off the XJ's safety features...
...Which, in German, are listed under the prosaic title, "Jaguar—Safety 1969."
Nails are varnished, and she's ready to drive. Conveniently, the car has switched from left- to right-hand drive, so she doesn't even need to change seats!
This page shows off what the British would charmingly refer to as the XJ's "oddments storage." Ample room for jaunty scarves, Michelin Tour Guides, and king-size cigarettes. The glove compartment, which as we are informed, "comes with its own vanity mirror," is "the domain of the driver's wife." Given that we last saw a woman driving, this brochure might be much more progressive than you'd expect.
A pictorial glimpse of the previously secret world of XJ6. I love the inclusion of these shots of disguised test mules. I wish every brochure showed us these kind of pictures; Lexus might want to use only shots of its cars under heavy camouflage.
As if there wasn't enough description and technical data already, the inside back cover includes a pocket with this pull-out card...
...That folds out to four times its original size. The reverse gives detailed specifications and descriptions of features; on this side, pretty much every conceivable dimension is given, including the length of the overhangs, the approach and departure angles, and the angle of the steering column. Dimensions are given in inches in English and centimeters in the other three languages. I absolutely adore how much respect this brochure shows for the consumer's ability to appreciate this level and amount of information.