Ph heroes: Jaguar xj220

[The _Don]

PH Heroes: Jaguar XJ220

 

[Scott_F]

An over-hyped compromise of a car.

 

[renault12ts]

Mactech...what do you say?

 

[wemorgan]

Mactech...what do you say?

taken from previous posts...

And it's all my fault!
I did the first engineering appraisal on the original Jaguar '88 show car when it arrived at TWR while I was engineering the Le Mans cars.
I said it was too big, too long, too complex, too heavy and much too small inside to ever consider making a production version of it with the very limited budget we would have.
Little did I know that a couple of years later I would be asked to be the chief development engineer for that car.
For the record, the car had a completley new version of the engine which powered the V6 Gp C Jaguars and that race car only engine shared only it's configuration with the 6R4.
I have no regrets about the performance, handling or impact of the car. I would have loved it to be more refined, but race engines just aren't and you would need the resources of the VW Group to make it more like a Buggatti.
It was speculators, economic downturn and the press who got the car a bad name.

The original show car was an 'automotive sculpture' by Jaguar. We were then given the job of producing a car which looked the same and performed to the anticipated level (220mph!) when people wanted to buy the thing!
Yes, budget constraints there were, but solid engineering reasons for the change of engine. The V12 was too big, too heavy and would not produce enough power within the emission regs to push the car to the right speed.
Then there was the question of tyres. Nobody produced a tyre capable of supporting a car of that mass plus downforce at that speed.
Given the amount of platform and technology sharing that now goes on, it still amazes me that a car and engine were designed, developed and produced when the numbers were limited to 350.
As I think you will know, it costs Buggatti £5m to produce each car when development costs are factored in.
I now think that the idea of a car which tries to do both racecar and roadcar is flawed. The two are so completley different you need two different cars.
It won't stop people trying though!

 

[Mactech]

Mactech...what do you say?

Well I'm not going to be biased in anyway, am I?

Yes it was compromised, underfunded, over-hyped (by speculators not enthuisiasts), and had all the refinement of a Millwall supporter.

However....people fell in love with it's looks and in terms of dynamics and speed it was up there with the best. In fact it is in this weeks Autocar as the reference for speed and handling 20 years ago.
It was good enough to win the IMSA class at Le Mans (on the road) in the hands of a certain D Coulthard....but I only got to drive it for 40K road miles and a couple of weeks at the Nurburgring

 

[wemorgan]

With the XJ220's history it's with some intrepidation that Jaguar are now developing C-X75 during another recession. It's also unfortunate they made the same PR gaff announcing gas turbine engines, but then switching to 'only' a 4-pot petrol formula 1 development engine. Nevertheless I'm still looking forward to seeing it.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

With the XJ220's history it's with some intrepidation that Jaguar are now developing C-X75 during another recession.

The sales of 'super cars' tends to rise during a 'recession' in general, I think.

 

[W2--]

One of my dream car. It's a bit of a classic supercar bargain IMO.

 

[Dryce]

However....people fell in love with it's looks and in terms of dynamics and speed it was up there with the best.

When I was younger the GT40 did the same thing. Looked great. Stoked the imagination.

The XJ220 is something similar a generation or two later.

In fact it is in this weeks Autocar as the reference for speed and handling 20 years ago.

Ouch that makes me feel so old. Was it really 20 years ago?