Posted on Tuesday 1 April 2008
It’s hard to imagine but not that long ago Jaguar laid claim to building the world’s fastest production car with its XJ220 supercar, which during the early 1990s was speed king until it was knocked off its throne by the McLaren F1. The car featured a turbocharged mid-mounted V6 developing 549hp (409kW) and was capable of reaching a top speed of 217mph (350km/h).
The idea of first building the car arose after a team of Jaguar enthusiasts envisaged developing a new supercar that could beat the Ferraris and Porsches of the time – most notably the F40 and 959 models. The design precis for the XJ220 was simple, create a lightweight two-seater with a powerful mid-mounted engine.
With the help of Tom Walkinshaw Racing, Jaguar rolled out a concept version of the car in 1988 and just three years later the final production version was launched. The car stayed in production at a purpose built factory at Bloxham near Oxford until it was finally discontinued in 1994. During its heyday, the XJ220 even spawned a custom Pininfarina-version designed exclusively for the Sultan of Brunei.
I just saw last weekend one on the Techno Classica oldtimer showIt was up for sale and it’s unbelieveable how wide and long this car is. Next to it stand a Merc if I remeber right which looked pretty small.
You know, the front 3/4 of this car still looks very modern. With a few tweaks this design could easliy be a modern supercar.
Its every tuners dream, turbo tuners from japan especially.
Yeah it was long and noisy but it sure had speed.
There’s some out there with typical upgrade that could reach 380km/h
with ease or if your serious I’m sure it will match the Indy car boys if you dare.
They don’t make’m like this no more!
I remember seeing a cutaway of the XJ220 once in which it sported a 12 cylinder engine. I don’t know if that ever came to pass. Later on people were complaining of a super car of such magnificent lines sporting a V6. I thought that was absolute BS bust now I find out it also had turbos and the power it developed. Impressive.
Haha could that music possibly be any more early ’90s cliche? I felt like I was watching a crime drama! All the video needs is Meg Ryan and Dan Akroyd to make it complete.
Nice car though. But personally I’ve never been a huge fan of the design.