Jaguar XJ220 1992 - World Of Classic Cars -

Jaguar XJ220 1992

The mid-engine XJ220 concept was first shown as a non-running prototype at England’s Birmingham Motor Show in 1988. The car began life as a cost-no-object one-off by Jaguar’s engineers, and it later became a limited production machine by Tom Walkinshaw’s Jaguarsport racing operation. The prototype, which featured a detuned version of the TWR 48-valve Jaguar racing V-12 with all-wheel drive, was deemed too large, and the project was recast with a fuel-injected, four-cam, 24-valve, twin-turbocharged V-6 producing 542 horsepower. It attracted a lot of attention, and reportedly, Jaguar received 1,200 deposits for an anticipated production run of just 350 cars.

Jaguar XJ220 1992

Styled like the concept, the recast car was given the production green light, with Jaguar and TWR confident that the simplified package could be hand-assembled at a new factory in Bloxham, UK, which was capable of building cars at a rate of three to four cars per week. By 1991, running prototypes were completing trials at Italy’s Nardo circuit, but in the meantime, the world economy was experiencing a recession.
Complicating matters further, Jaguar did not make available the car for sale in the United States, citing the cost of complying with U.S. safety and emissions certification. Topping it all off, the car was large and incredibly fast, with a top speed of over 200 mph—certainly not ideal for public roads. Faced with buyers who reneged on their orders, Jaguar struggled to move those that it built and ended the supercar project after just 281 had been completed, making them highly collectible today. The XJ220 was a successful race car however, and it won the GT class in the 1993 Le Mans, only to be disqualified several weeks later on a technical issue.

Jaguar XJ220 1992

This particular car is finished in a beautiful dark Le Mans Blue metallic with grey leather hides. Like all XJ220s, it is equipped with factory air conditioning. It was completed on November 20, 1992, and on December 18, 1992, it was sent to Germany. Its present owner took possession on October 18, 2008. Remarkably, the odometer registers less than 2,000 miles from new! Modifications to conform the Jaguar to California emissions certification was completed on June 27, 2001, enabling the car to be compliant with U.S. EPA and CARB emission control regulations applicable to 1992 passenger cars. Currently, the car is titled in the state of Ohio.

Jaguar XJ220 1992

In February 2009, the car was serviced by experts at North Coast Exotics, of Cleveland, Ohio. Maintenance and repairs, which were in excess of $10,400, included the installation of a new clutch and slave cylinder and the replacement of timing belts, tensioners, spark plugs, and air, OIL, and fuel filters, as well as all fluids. A receipt for the work performed is available for inspection upon request. This car must be seen, heard, and driven to fully appreciate what a masterpiece of engineering design it is. Intended to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini, fewer than 300 examples were built in its short production run, which began in 1992. This particular example remains a splendid example of Jaguar’s exhilarating supercar of the 1990s.