1992 Jaguar XJ220

1992 Jaguar XJ2201992 Jaguar XJ2201992 Jaguar XJ2201992 Jaguar XJ2201992 Jaguar XJ2201992 Jaguar XJ2201992 Jaguar XJ220
1992 Jaguar XJ220
1992 Jaguar XJ220
1992 Jaguar XJ220
1992 Jaguar XJ220
1992 Jaguar XJ220
1992 Jaguar XJ220
1992 Jaguar XJ220
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
England
We all have those certain cars that resonate from an early age – the poster cars, even though I have to confess to never having put up a poster in my life. For many it’s high-end Italian exotica from the 1970s and ’80s that fits the bill: the F40, Miura and Berlinetta Boxer. As a child of the late 1980s and growing up in the ’90s, my cultural touchstones are a little newer. I should probably have been enamoured with the McLaren F1, but short of its curious central seating position there wasn’t much there to excite me. The Jaguar XJ220, on the other hand, left a nine-year-old MacLeman wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
For me, nothing could rival the long, slippery shape of the Jaguar, looking for all the world like a time traveller from the future. Despite its upturned Rover 200 rear lights and Ford switchgear, Keith Helfet created a style set apart from everything else on the roads and which had a lasting impact on both future models and the minds of this would-be motoring journalist.
Under the skin the car was hugely different from what was initially promised, losing half its cylinders and two driven wheels from drawing board to showroom. But performance was still impressive, the fastest production car in the world for a time and the quickest production car to lap the Nordschleife. Had the XJ220 been released at the height of the hypercar boom rather than immediately after, we would probably regard the model very differently.
Rather than seeing a white elephant, we would appreciate the car for what it is: a drop-dead gorgeous supercar with performance to match. If its slow start in life did anything, it ensured that it remained a rarity even after launch, with dozens of the 282-car production run sitting in warehouses for years while Jaguar tried to shift them – often at a huge discount. Not great if you were a speculative investor in 1992, but perfect if you’re looking for an appreciating asset today – and one that has more power to turn heads than a new Ferrari. Slade’s Garage has managed to lay its hands on an incredible example registered in 1995, in jet black over grey leather – a combination that lends the car an even more modern feel. Condition inside and out is commensurate with a mileage of just 11,000, with a deep lustre to the paintwork that shows off that beautiful, otherworldly shape. Thanks to Don Law Racing, running an XJ220 has never been easier, with relatively recent developments including the reproduction of period-correct tyres making putting serious miles on this car possible.
SUMMARY
CHOSEN BY Greg MacLeman
FOR Looks, performance, rarity and undeniable cool factor
AGAINST Car-show bores telling you it has a Metro engine…
WHY SHOULD I BUY IT?
The XJ220 is a supercar legend whose stock is on the rise, and one that has lost none of its mystique in the intervening 30 years
1992 Jaguar XJ220
Year of manufacture 1992
Recorded mileage 11,000
Asking price £375,000
Vendor Slade’s Garage, Penn, Bucks; 01494 509326; slades-garage.co.uk
WHEN IT WAS NEW
Price £470,000
Max power 542bhp
Max torque 475lb ft
0-60mph 3.6 secs
Top speed 213mph
Mpg 28
Year 1992
Body Types Coupe
Fuel Petrol
Airbags Yes
A/C Yes
ABS Yes
Color
Mileage 11 000 Miles
Displacement 3.5
Transmission Manual
VIN number SAJJEAEX7AX220648
Torque 474 lb ft
Power 542 bhp
Doors 2
Complectation High
17:29
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