Interesting read from last July … I was stunned that there are “less than 1,000” XJSes on the road today in the U.K. 
. wth??? 
The article says only 1000 of the facelift model, which in turn was only about 20% of total XJ-S production over the 21 year span.
Better yet, of some 27,000 Series III machines built – compared to roughly 70,000 E-types – fewer than 1,000 examples of the XJS are still registered on the road in the UK.
I don’t see here where it specifies the stat only applies to face-lift models. 
In the article it makes a clear distinction between the early XJ-S and the later facelift car, as the main focus of the article, being renamed as XJS.
I guess that’s possible … In any event, still find it hard to believe there are less than 1,000 face-lifts on the 
roadways, but then the author is presumably an expert on the subject …
Maybe the figure came from here: How Many Left. I’ve checked it before and found it a little erratic in aggregating similar models to a single figure. The real data will be available from the DVLA but it is difficult to figure out from the data they make available what table to look at.
I’m kinda curious how many XJSes are on the road now here in Texas. I have used the public info. database before to see how many Opel GTs are still registered here (and therefore presumably “on the road”), and was shocked to see how many are. I think sometime over the Holiday I will check out the XJS figure and report it back here. 
Very seldom in 2019 do I actually see an XJS out driving on the road. If I do happen to see one, it’s often the facelift models.
I currently own 8 XJ-S in some variant. I have had as many as 13. 5 have been in such bad condition that I have salvaged what I could and scrapped the balance. 4 of the XJ-S that I currently own are parts cars. These are cars that have been left out, neglected etc. and will cost far too much to bring back. They do hold many NLA parts. I will keep them as long as I have dry storage available. I know of a number of other XJ-S that are sitting in situations where there will soon be completely trash and not good for even parts salvage. These cars are held by folks that think they will be a gold mine when in reality they are becoming piles of oxidized metal. I am going to get three of the XJ-S to a point where I can sell them to worthy owner and I am building one for myself. These are great cars that do require some love to keep in tip top shape but I have seen them neglected with original belts, hose etc. in place after years, like 20, and still functioning.
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Ditto: in a metro area of over 3 million souls, I can only remember seeing one at a Brit car show, in the past couple of years. I’ll see a big Healey before seeing an XJS.
I drive an XJS almost every day, but wow yes is it rare to see another. Someone seeing me might say they see them all the time 
Compare that to an MGB, where on the first warm day of spring and you’ll see five. That’s always fun, driving a B and seeing another B. That car has the best “drive it” culture. They are literally everywhere which is amazing for such an old car. I don’t even see VW Bugs like I see ‘Bs.
Sadly, same for my area, which is almost as populous. 
quite interesting, the ‘how many left’ shows only 27 xjrs left and 48 xjr-s
you have to be specific with the xjr or xj-s to get the full results
here in France i see 2 xjr-s for sale at 60K Euros!
When you consider that a lot of 80’s run of the mill cars areg going for 20K + the Jaguar does seem a bargain
The figures are very dependent on the correct model name being recorded at DVLA, the website does say that older cars are problematic due to inconsistencies in the exact name used. It tells me that there are 56 of my 1960s Alfa Spider 1750 Veloce on the road, but to get all the early Alfa Spider numbers you have to know that the 1300 was called the junior (only 4 in the uk???) and who knows what the 1600 Duetto is logged as. No sign at all of the 2600. It is not a complete resource, probably works OK for post 2000 registrations.
I drive my ‘88 XJ-S on a nearly daily basis, mostly locally though. I know of one facelift driven on a daily basis, and have seen two others in the past year. I wonder how many are lurking in garages…true what was said about MGBs. I have one also and frequently see them on the road. But there were 5 times as many of those built over a shorter lifespan.