The Jaguar XJ220
is a mid-engined supercar produced by Jaguar in collaboration with Tom
Walkinshaw Racing as Jaguar Sport between 1992 and 1994. It held the
record for the highest top speed of a production car (350 km/h, 217 mph)
(although it was modified from standard to achieve this), until the
arrival of the McLaren F1 in 1994. The XJ220 is unrelated to other XJ
models, despite sharing the "XJ" prefix.
In
the 1980s, Jaguar's chief engineer Jim Randle, as part of an informal
group called "The Saturday Club", began work on a concept car,
code-named XJ220, which - if put into production - could compete in a
potential new Group B racing category. He saw it as competition for cars
such as the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959 and wanted to re-capture the
glory years of Jaguar racing from the 50s and 60s. He envisioned what
was essentially an updated XJ13 - a lightweight two-seater with a
powerful mid-mounted V12 engine. Randle expanded on the idea by settling
on all-wheel drive and an integral safety-cage so the car could be
safely raced at extremely high speeds.
