Want to own an example of that extraordinary breed of supercars that time after time broke all performance records in a 10-year spell from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s? I’m afraid they’re all gone: any decent Ferrari 288 GTO, F40 or F50, Porsche 959, Bugatti EB110, or McLaren F1 now requires a seven-digit investment. Apart from one. Despite being built in similarly microscopic numbers to the GTO and 959, despite being as quick or quicker than any save the F1, despite class-winning Le Man's heritage and despite being one of the most drop-dead gorgeous cars ever created, a Jaguar XJ220 can be bought today for around £400,000. A lot, I grant, but a fraction of what’s required to secure any of the others.
It’s hard to believe it’s 30 years since Jaguar launched its ill-starred supercar, 34 since it first appeared in V12, four-wheel-drive concept form at the Birmingham show, and 29 since this title became the first and only magazine to conduct a full road test evaluation of a factory-supplied car.
This car, as it happens. Now owned by XJ220 guru Don Law, it needs very little introduction here: J999 JAG is the very first production XJ220; it was Tom Walkinshaw’s own company car and the car he supplied to us to do that road test, which we then promptly crashed, the story of which you can read overleaf.
Denne historien er fra May 18, 2022-utgaven av Autocar UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 18, 2022-utgaven av Autocar UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.
SKODA KAMIQ
A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable
'Our time has come'
Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store
Lion kings
Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal