Since the dawn of the automotive era, car companies have strived to make the claim of having the fastest car in the world.  There are many different ways to compare speed, with the most common comparison of modern performance cars typically taking place on a quarter mile dragstrip, but the other major comparison is top speed.  The quarter mile time is the most pertinent to most new car buyers, as most drivers will never experience the top speeds of today’s high performance cars, but the title of “World’s Fastest Car” pertaining to the highest top speed has always been the crown jewel of the world performance automobile market.  Names like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Porsche have battled for the top spot, but in the late 1980s a group of performance minded Jaguar employees set out on the task of claiming the title of the world’s fastest production car.

This group was unofficially referred to as the Saturday Club due to the fact that they met after normal business hours to discuss ideas about small projects, especially along the lines of performance concepts.  This group was headed by chief engineer Jim Randle, and this new sports car was Randle’s vision, and the XJ220 name was attached to the car based on the intended top speed of this Jaguar.  Randle’s dream Supercar was to be an ultra-light 2-door coupe with an integrated reinforced, roll-cage like chassis, built around a powerful mid-mounted Jaguar V12 engine.  The final addition to the XJ220 project was an all-wheel drive system, helping the car in both acceleration and cornering, so the goal was to have a car that could achieve extremely high speeds without compromising safety or the ability to be street driven with the styling cues to come from the 1966 Jaguar XJ13.

The Concept

The goal was set for the Saturday Club; design a street legal, 2-door, mid-engine, all wheel drive performance car that could take a swipe at the record of the worlds fastest production car that will still handle well and provide a comfortable ride.  This was no simple task, and before tackling it Jaguar joined forced with Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) to design the engine.  TWR had a long standing history with high performance cars, mostly race-only models, but the company had begun producing street cars and working with manufacturers.  Walkinshaw was most notably involved with the design of General Motors Australian performance division, Holden Special Vehicles, although they also had a hand in some prior Jaguar models.  The initial task of TWR was to perfect the 6.2L V12 Jaguar engine, using a 4 valve per cylinder and duel overhead camshaft with a pair of cams mounted in each of the huge cylinder heads, and the target range for the performance was 500 horsepower.  The all wheel drive system was also contracted to an outside company, and with over 20 years of performance AWD system experience, FF Developments Limited was chosen to put together a drive system for this new Supercar.  Keith Helfet was responsible for the exterior design, and the smooth lines announced this car’s racer backgrounds, with a set of vertically opening doors, similar to those found on Lamborghinis and vintage race cars setting off the unique look.

All parts of this XJ220 concept came together in time for its world debut at the 1988 British Motor Show.  From the styling to the drivetrain to the hopeful top speed of 220 miles per hour, the new Jag was a huge success and buyers lined up to get their hands on one of the XJ220s, which were promised to range from 220 to 350 units.  The XJ220 was effectively replacing the 1992 Jaguar XJR-15, which evolved directly from the early XJR race models also designed with help from Tom Walkinshaw Racing.  However, the XJ220 keyed more on the aspect of being a road car than a race car, so it was quite a bit heavier than the XJR models but the XJ220 concept was light when compared to other sports oriented Jaguar street models such as the XJS.  While much wider, longer, and lower than the vintage XJ13, the lines were similar with the high, rounded fenders and quarter panels and the oval grille opening tucked under hide away headlights.  Finished in bright silver with a very low roofline, this AWD V12 powered monster offered the look and feel of a race model with the conveniences of a street car.  The Jaguar XJ220 officially became available for pre-order in 1989 with a sticker price of $580,000 (including a deposit of $80,000) and with that price the XJ220s were sold primarily to celebrities like Sir Elton John and others looking to invest in this rare model with the intention of selling it as a collectible in the near future.

The Production Model

The interested public waited for over 3 years for the production model to be released, and October of 1991, the 1992 Jaguar XJ220 met the world with mixed reviews.  The Jaguar XJ220 still carried the sharp race ready styling of the concept, but it did not come with the vertical doors.  The exterior of the car remained relatively unchanged other than the door style, and overall the idea and feel of the concept was preserved in production.

The biggest change to the production XJ220 was the drivetrain.  One of the major selling points of the XJ220 concept was the all wheel drive system and the high performance V12, but the production car featured neither.  Once production was announced, Jaguar gave the task of producing the XJ220s to TWR, but before agreeing to building the cars for Jaguar, Tom Walkinshaw had a few guidelines.  First, the car would be offered only as rear wheel drive with a conventional transaxle, similar to that used in prior Jaguar performance models.  Second (and to some the most important) was the removal of the V12 in favor of the first ever Jaguar V6.  Growing concerns about emissions laws and rising fuel costs, along with the added weight of the huge V12, caused TWR to pick the internally developed twin turbo 3.5L V6, making 549 horsepower and 473 lb-ft of torque.  Along with being the first V6 powered Jaguar, the XJ220 was also the first Jag to come with forced induction.  However, the Garrett twin-turbocharged V6 made more power than the V12 did, and with all of the changes to the drivetrain, the XJ220 officially set the record for the fastest production car with a top speed of 217 miles per hour, with a 0-60 time reportedly around 4 seconds.

The final change from the 1989 pre-orders to the 1992 production release was a jump in the sale price, having gone from $580,000 to $650,000, forcing many of those buying the car as an investment or something to sell quickly to turn a profit to question those thoughts.  Through numerous court cases, Jaguar gave those who pre-ordered the option to buy out of their contracts.

Even with the bad feelings about the changes, the Jaguar XJ220 set the record at the time for the world’s fastest production car, and that record would hold until 1994 with the McLaren F1 took it away.  There would be 281 XJ220s made from 1992 to 1994 when the model was removed in favor of the new XJR-15.  The XJ220 instantly became a legend in the high performance road car world, but its performance was recognized on the track as well.  The XJ220C was offered as a race prepared model, and in their first race, Win Percy won at Silverstone raceway in a BRDC National Sports GT Challenge event.  In 1993, there were three XJ220Cs entered in the 24 Hours of LeMans, and while the race was shortened for two of the cars, the third Jaguar entry rode to a class win.  This car, driven by well known drivers John Nielsen, David Brabham, and David Coulthard, had their win revoked two weeks after the event due to illegal equipment on the vehicle.

The XJ220 was most popular in Great Brittan, but it was also offered in the United States and to promote the model, ESPN, along with several racing organizations based predominantly in the US, formed the FASTMASTERS racing series in 1993.  The series was to run for the entire summer with weekly events pitting racing legends from NASCAR, Indy Car, Formula 1, NHRA, and major off road circuits head to head in an elimination series to determine the true “Fastmaster”.  These legends, all of whom were over the age of 56, were fitted with identically prepared XJ220 road cars, prepared by Tom Walkinshaw for a final price tag of $750,000.  The races were held on a section of Indianapolis Raceway Park, using a portion of the oval and a portion of the infield road course.  The initial schedule had been to race two races in each event with one being the oval and one being a road course, but in practice an accident destroyed two of the high priced racers, so the single race schedule was chosen.  There would be only a single season of Fastmasters, and the season champion was Indy Car legend Bobby Unser.  Second place went to Johnny Rutherford and third went to Trams-Am racer George Follmer.  Here is a complete list of the Fastmasters competitors:

Bob Akin,

Bobby Allison,

Donnie Allison,

Buddy Baker,

Derek Bell,

Gary Bettenhausen,

Tom Bigelow,

Bob Bondurant,

Bob Christie,

Larry Dickson,

Guy Edwards,

Vic Elford,

Walker Evans,

Gene Felton,

George Follmer,

Harry Gant,

Charlie Glotzbach,

Paul Goldsmith,

Jerry Grant,

Dick Greer,

Pete Hamilton,

Eddie Hill,

David Hobbs,

Parnelli Jones,

Mel Kenyon,

Elmo Langley,

Fred Lorenzen,

Ed McCulloch,

Jim McElreath,

Hershel McGriff,

Paul Newman,

Marvin Panch,

Benny Parsons,

David Pearson,

Henri Pescarolo,

Tom Pistone,

Lennie Pond,

Jim Rathmann,

Brian Redman,

Jody Ridley,

Lloyd Ruby,

Johnny Rutherford,

Troy Ruttman,

Dick Simon,

Bill Simpson,

George Snider,

Dick Trickle,

Bobby Unser,

Rodger Ward,

Bob Wollek

Although the Jaguar XJ220 saw only 3 years and 281 units produced, its reign of the world’s fastest production car cemented the XJ220s place in the record books, and it helped to pave the way for future Jaguar performance models as well as making for a rare and valuable collectable.