I also find myself coming back to this thread for pics and updates, the most bad ass car I didn't know anything about until recently

 

+1

 

To me the XJR-15 is what the XJ-220 should always have looked like. If TWR had been given a better chance to refine the car I feel sure it would have sold a lot better than the 220 did. Not only that it has the V12 that was promised in the 220 but which was never delivered.

Correct me if I am wrong here but am I right in assuming that a V12 XJ-220 road does actually exist as a one off?

PS Your car is looking amazing, hopefully I will get to see it some time this year

 

Thanks - we are planning a run sometime in the spring and will probably be out in force at 1 or 2 of the main supercar events, so will let you know!

 

It had almost slipped out of view but I am hopeful that more of these cars will be prised out of collections and returned to their proper place on the road...

 

Thanks for the feedback and will let you know when / where it will be this year.

It was funnily enough actually TWR who suggested using the V6 in the 220 to make the car smaller, easier to drive and more up to date as the V6 had replaced the V12 in the racing cars.
A common misconception is that Jaguar promised a V12 then used the V6 without telling anyone, which is not actually true - they clearly stated that the car would have a V6 in the sales literature, but some wily speculators tried to use this argument to get out of their contracts when the supercar market bombed, just as the XJ220 was rolling off the production line. Bad timing I suppose. The '15 was sold in 1990/1 when the market was at its peak and they sold all 50 cars for about £500k (what's that - equal to £1m today?) before they were built. At the time, I was riding a £100 Honda, so it was all another (fantasy) world...

Another interesting fact is that Peter Stevens, designer of the '15 (and the McLaren F1) also did a design for the 220 which looked a lot like the '15....TWR were keen to offer the alternative design option to 220 customers (same chassis, different body), but were over-ruled. So they went ahead and built their own car. That's why it is strictly speaking a JaguarSport XJR-15, rather than a Jaguar.

And there is indeed a V12 220, the original concept car, which I believe has never turned a wheel.

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply, look forward to hearing when you have something planned,

 

I believe there is also a XJ220 which is undergoing a V12 transplant.

 

There is indeed...

 

Found an interesting contemporary article comparing the XJR15 to the Diablo.