Description
This is lot number 136 in the Bonhams Bonmont Auction on June 30th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
• 210mph-plus supercar
• One of only some 270-280 built
• Completely original and in very good condition
• Registered in Switzerland
The words 'supercar' and 'sensational' are often found in conjunction, and no more justifiably so than in the case of Jaguar's fabulous XJ220. Worthy successor to the XK120 and E-Type (like the former, the model designation referenced the target top speed), the XJ220 grabbed the headlines, just as its illustrious forebears had done in previous decades, when it burst upon an astonished world at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 1991. This time though, the newest Jaguar could claim a title denied its predecessors: that of ‘The World's Fastest Car’. A limited production run of a minimum of 220 and a maximum of 350 cars, combined with an eventual price of over £400, 000, only served to further ensure the XJ220's exclusivity.
Planning for Jaguar's proposed 200mph supercar had begun in the mid-1980s - design proceeding mainly in the project team's spare time! - and finally bore fruit when the prototype was exhibited at the UK's International Motor Show at Birmingham in October 1988. So favourable was the reception that the order book was soon oversubscribed, Jaguar taking around 1, 500 deposits of £50, 000 each. Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), Jaguar's collaborator in its endurance racing programme, was entrusted with the XJ220's development and construction.
The XJ220 survived Jaguar's takeover by Ford the following year, but when it eventually entered production in 1992 was a very different beast. Gone was the prototype's 6. 2-litre V12 engine, replaced by a 3. 5-litre, twin-turbo V6 derived from that used in the XJR-10 and XJR-11 sports-racers. Producing no less than 542bhp, this stupendous engine enabled the XJ220 to get close to its 220mph design target, F1 driver Martin Brundle recording a speed of over 217mph during track testing. The 0-100mph time was a staggering 7. 9 seconds!
Drawing on experience gained from Jaguar's double-Le Mans-winning Group C sports racers, the XJ220 was constructed around a bonded and riveted monocoque chassis formed from lightweight, corrosion resistant, aluminium-alloy sheet reinforced by aluminium honeycomb sections in highly stressed areas. Similarly race-derived was the double-wishbone suspension, adapted to provide acceptable comfort under road conditions, while other competition-influenced features were the AP Racing brakes; Speedline aluminium alloy wheels (17" diameter at the front, 18" at the rear); and an FF Developments, five-speed, all-synchromesh transaxle with viscous-control, limited-slip differential.
However, the many changes in specification between the prototype and the production version and the fact that the base price had risen from £290, 000+VAT in 1990 to a VAT-inclusive £403, 000, resulted in numerous cancelled orders. An ongoing economic recession didn't help matters either. In the event, approximately 270-280 (published figures vary) XJ220s had been built when production ended in 1994. To this day the XJ220 remains the fastest Jaguar ever offered for public sale.
First registered in Switzerland on 24th February 1994, this one-owner XJ220 is completely original and in very good condition, having covered fewer than 7, 500 kilometres from new. Accompanying documentation consists of copies of the manufacturer's specification sheet and a Swiss Carte Grise.
