Alex Unleashed on Cars: Jaguar XJ220 (Failure, or Plucky Success)
Sadly, things did not go to plan.
The V12 engine in the concepts origins were in the DOHC 48v V12 that was was supposed to be used in the Jaguar XJ13 LeMans car from the 60s, but it only made 450 BHP, which despite the cars advanced aerodynamics wouldn't get it to the desired 220 MPH top speed, it also wouldn't meet emission regulations, so Jaguar then trialled a detuned V12 from the XJR-11 Group C car but eventually settled on a 3.5 litre V6 twin turbo which, contrary to popular belief is not a Metro 6R4 unit but actually has more in common with the XJR-10 IMSA GTP car.
The 4-wheel drive system was found to be too expensive and complex to install so was canned early on. There were some other cost cutting measures, including Rover 200 rear lights and Citroen CX door mirrors.
When the XJ220 finally went on sale in 1992, the price had ballooned to £403,000 following the stock market crash in 1990, some people even tried to sell-off their £50,000 deposits and others were taken to court after they'd tried to get out of their contracts. Whilst Jaguar hadn't perfectly transitioned the concept into a road car, the finished product was still an impressive machine. The twin-turbo V6 made 542 BHP and 479 Ib/ft, combined with a weight of 1470 KG gives 368 BHP per tonne, 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and 0-100 in 7.5 seconds. Elsewhere, the XJ220 had a fully equipped interior with leather seats, dials and gauges in the doors and air conditioning, a stark contrast to the Ferrari F40. The XJ220 can surge to incredible speeds with relative ease, still accelerating hard even well past 150 MPH in 16.2 seconds, a full 2 seconds quicker than a F40 whilst still keeping the driver in relative comfort barring the lack of headroom.
But the XJ220 had 3 major problems, the first was the cars immense size and it's poor brakes that made it a handful in the corners and difficult to use on all but the widest roads and tracks.
The 2nd was the Bugatti EB110 GT, it had a quad turbo, quad cam, 4 valves per cylinder 3.5 V12, 4-wheel drive, scissor doors and an even more comfy interior complete with wood trim and plenty of electrical gizmos, not to mention a price of just £235,000, on the face of it, the EB110 was the car the XJ220 was originally intended to be. It was easier to drive, more well-equipped, cheaper and just as fast (0-60 in 3.6 seconds and 211 flat out).
The 3rd problem was the Jaguar Sport XJR-15. Built by TWR Motorsport as a road going Group C car using a de-tuned V12 from the Group C cars. The XJR-15 is a story in of itself, but essentially, they were made as racers for a 3 race one-make series, then 50 were made back into road cars for an undisclosed price (at least 100k). The XJR-15 may have only had 450 BHP to the XJ220's 542, but it weighed just 1050 KG thanks to a full carbon body and a racing interior, complete with headphones as the engine is that loud. The XJR-15 threatened Jaguar as, here came a V12 supercar with racing pedigree from within Jaguar's own race team that had potential buyers looking elsewhere.
But, whilst the Bugatti EB110 was unofficially faster, Jaguar actually set the record, with Martin Brundle at the wheel and with it's catalytic converter removed, the XJ220 hit 217 MPH at Nardo in Italy, which when on a flat straight (Nardo is a high speed bowl, so no car can reach true top speed) equated to 223 MPH, another bonus was the XJ220-C GT1 car winning it's class at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans with a young David Coulthard behind the wheel, though the car was later found to have an illegal exhaust and was disqualified.
The XJ220 eventually fell to the wayside as newer hypercars like the Ferrari F50, Diablo SE30 and of course the McLaren F1 arrived and surpassed the XJ220 in performance and dynamics, it also quickly became clear the car was a flop, cars were left unsold at less than 25% the original price tag.
But the XJ220 did get a new lease of life. TWR Motorsport took a few XJ220s and modified them, 400 KG of weight was stripped including new bucket seats and composite body panels, the V6 was given even bigger turbochargers to produce 680 BHP, and a new GT1 style rear wing was fitted to create the XJ220-S. The S could hit 60 in just over 3 seconds, 0-100 in less than 7, it could spin its wheels in 3rd gear and managed to set the World Record for Fastest Lap of a UK Circuit in 1997 at Millbrooks Highspeed bowl at 180.4 MPH.
Whilst at the time, the XJ220 was a huge financial flop, with cars still being on forecourts in 1998 for a price of £85,000, in the years since, time has been kind to the XJ220. It might not have been the car that Jaguar intended to make, but the final product was still an incredible showcase of perseverance by the Jaguar engineers, it is still one of the fastest UK cars ever made, and even if it went on sale today, not many cars would be faster at the top end. So, in the end the XJ220 as a finished product worked out, in a way, it did achieve the title of Worlds Fastest Road Car and I think that more than offsets the lack of a V12 or 4-wheel drive, don't you?
Year: 1992-1997
Engine: 3.5 Litre Twin Turbo V6
Top Speed: 212 - 228 MPH
0-60: 3.7 - 3.2 Seconds
Power: 542 - 680 BHP
Torque: 479 - 526 Ib/ft
Weight: 1470 - 1079 KG
Rivals: McLaren F1, Bugatti EB110, Lamborghini Diablo, Ferrari F50, Jaguar Sport XJR-15
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