As a child of the 80s, the Jaguar XJ220 was awe-inspiring to me. It was as if my boyhood car dreams had come to life. I did my utmost to harvest photos of the car to put on my bedroom walls, I pestered my parents for car magazines, posters and models. It became my car hero.
The ups and downs of the cars birth and transition from concept to production did not bother me in the slightest, the esteem I held in the car could not be broken.
The XJ220 started life as an unofficial project, the Jaguar racing cars of the time were not in any way reminiscent of the cars that the public could buy. Something had to be done.
Jim Randle, the Director of Engineering at Jaguar assembled a team of volunteers, known as “The Saturday Club”, who worked evenings and weekends on the project.
The concept was to be a mid-engined V12 with four-wheel drive, this specification was heavily influenced by the FIA regulations of the time. Being an unofficial project, the design and build of the car was done on a shoestring budget, it is a wonder that the car ever saw the light of day.
The XJ220 concept debuted at the 1988 British International Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham with only hours to spare. The concept was finished at 3am on the morning of the debut and made it to the NEC in time for the 11am reveal.
The reception of the concept was off-the-scale, way beyond what Jaguar were hoping for. Jaguar quickly realised that the car must be put into production. It is believed that in the region of 1,500 deposits of £50,000 were taken for the 220mph four-wheel drive V12 supercar.
Jaguar XJ220 Concept Car
Jaguar XJ220 Production Car
Production was done under the JaguarSport mantle, an already established joint venture between Jaguar and Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR).
By the time the car reached production, it was clear that compromises had been made. Engineering and emissions constraints meant that the V12 had been dropped in favour of a twin turbo V6.
Four-wheel drive had also been sacrificed, along with ABS and servo assisted brakes. The showpiece scissor doors were another casualty of the production process, conventional doors were now in their place.
The changes were not out of line with their competitors, Ferrari and Porsche were both producing their flagships supercar models with smaller displacement turbo charged engines. The F40 had a 2.9 litre twin turbo V8 and the 959 had a 2.8 litre twin turbo flat 6, compared to the 3.5 litre twin turbo V6 of the XJ220.
Despite the changes, the power output for the production car was better than what was quoted for the concept car. The concept was stated to have 500bhp and 400 lb-ft of torque, the production car produced 542bhp and 475 lb-ft of torque.
Engineering constraints aside, the timing of the XJ220 meant that it got caught in a global recession between conception and production. Many deposit holders no longer had the means to follow through on their original order leaving many unsold.
The top speed of the car was what the world had fixated on because “220” was in the name, when originally tested the car achieved 212.3mph, a little short of the desired 220mph.
Subsequent to the original test, an XJ220 was sent to the Nardo Ring for another top speed run, this time with Martin Brundle behind the wheel.
Brundle reported that the car was hitting the rev limiter, as a result this was raised from 7,400rpm to 7,900rpm, the catalytic converters were also removed from the car.
On the cars next run, the XJ220 topped out at 217.1mph, the equivalent to 223mph on a flat, straight road. Mission accomplished!
The XJ220 enjoyed a brief stint in the world of motorsport, a racing version of the car was unveiling in 1993 called the XJ220-C, built to compete in GT racing categories.
The car won its first race at Silverstone in the hands of Win Percy, driving in the equivalent of today’s British GT championship.
In the same debut year, three works entered XJ220-Cs competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car driven by David Coulthard, David Brabham and John Nielsen won their class.
The result, however, was overturned and the car was disqualified for not running with catalytic converters, despite the car passing scrutineering earlier that week. Evidence was provided and appeals were lodged but it was to no avail.
To this day, the XJ220 still feels like the forgotten supercar, very much unloved. It perhaps gets lost in the shadow of the McLaren F1 but I believe that its charm and character far exceed anything offered by its competitors.
There will always be a space on my wall for a Jaguar XJ220 poster.
Tiff Needell reviews the Jaguar XJ220 on old Top Gear