1993 Jaguar XJ220

Details

The Swallow Sidecar Company was founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley. In 1934 Lyons formed SS Cars Limited to effectively take over the operation from Walmsley. The SS brand was quite successful, though their cars had a reputation for having ‘more show than go’. The Jaguar name first appeared as a model name on an SS 2½ Litre Sports Saloon introduced in 1936. For political reasons, Lyons changed the name of his company to Jaguar Cars in 1945.

The SS100 built between 1936 and 1941 is today regarded as one of the great pre-war sports cars, however, it was the launch of the legendary Jaguar XK120 at the London Motor Show in 1948 that really put Jaguar on the map. The car caused a sensation, which persuaded Jaguar founder and design boss William Lyons to put it into production. The XK120 morphed into the XK140 and ultimately the XK150 and in total, just over 30,000 cars were built over 15 years of production.

In 1961, at the Geneva Motor Show, Jaguar introduced the E-Type, which like the XK120 all those years ago, took the motoring world by storm. The E-Type went on to become a legend and as a testament to its success, production evolved through three series from 1961 until 1974 during which time circa 70,000 cars were built.

Jaguar enjoyed much success in motor racing and perhaps the greatest Jaguar ever built was the legendary D-Type. Back in the day the D-Type dominated race tracks around the world, achieving the ultimate success in 1955, 1956 and 1957 winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Racing team owner Tom Walkinshaw approached Jaguar executives and encouraged the company to enter the XJS into the 1981 European Touring Car Championship. The partnership succeeded in winning the competition in 1983. Jaguar started to supply engines for various race cars from 1983 onwards. Cars like the XJR-5, the XJR-6 and the XJR-9 were built to compete in the World Sportscar Championship (WSC), Group C and the IMSA Camel GTP.

Back in December 1984 Jim Randle, Jaguar’s Director of Engineering, had a vision . . . what sort of car would Jaguar build today looking back at the glory days of the C-Type and D-Type? This was the inspiration for what was to become the Jaguar XJ220. With no official support for the project Randle had no other option but to put together a team of volunteers. This team quickly became known as “The Saturday Club” and consisted of 12 volunteers. To justify the resources consumed by the project, the XJ220 needed to provide meaningful data to the engineers on handling, aerodynamics (particularly at high speeds) and aluminium structures. These requirements, together with FIA racing regulations and various government regulations governing car design and safety, influenced the overall design and engineering direction of the car.

The concept car was completed in the early hours of 18 October 1988, the day it was due to be unveiled at the British International Motor Show, being held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. The vehicle was completed at 3:00am, moved to Jaguar’s stand at 06:00am and unveiled at 11:00am. The response was overwhelming. The press and a number of wealthy Jaguar enthusiasts handed over blank cheques to secure a purchase option should the concept go into production. Ferrari’s display of their F40 flagship model at the same event was overshadowed, as an estimated 90,000 additional visitors came to see the XJ220.

The XJ220 was initially presented as a 4 wheel drive with a thumping 6.2 litre V12 engine (that was developed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing). However, by the time the first XJ220 rolled off the production line in 1992 the car had undergone significant changes. The V12 engine was replaced with a twin turbocharged 3.5 litre V6 and the car was now rear wheel drive only. These changes polarised opinions back in the day, however, Jaguar delivered on their promise of building an incredible supercar that could hit a top speed of well in excess of 200 mph and accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 4 seconds!

Exactly how many XJ220’s were built is up for debate, but it is understood that the number is around 270 cars of which perhaps 70 were right hand drive.

Oldtimer Australia is excited to offer for sale a factory right drive 1993 Jaguar XJ220.

There is a heritage certificate on file which confirms that this car was completed on the 16^th  June 1993 and it was originally ‘Le Mans Blue’ with a ‘Smoke Grey Interior’.  It is believed this car was originally destined for the Japanese market, however, the purchase invoice on file shows this XJ220 was sold new in the UK by Grange Jaguar LTD in Hertfordshire on the 1^st February 1995 to Mr. Alan J. Finden-Crofts from Littlehampton, a former CEO of Dunlop Slazenger and the Raleigh Cycle Company. He first registered the XJ220 in the UK on 3^rd April 1995 with the registration number 5FC.

After enjoying the car for a few years, Mr Finden-Crofts sold the car in 2006 through XJ220 specialists Oakfields, to Mr Paul Fitzgerald from Galway Ireland. The XJ220 was then registered as M893 URX. In 2001 the car was sold, again through Oakfields, to Mr Carlo Griggs from West Sussex, UK. In September 2012 the car was sold for a third time by Oakfields, to a Sydney family who are the current and fourth owners of this car. There is an Import Approval on file dated 31st October 2012 and the car was subsequently imported into Australia. At that time the odometer reading was 5,295 miles, however, there is a small sticker on the odometer and a note in the file to add an additional 2,582 miles. The total mileage traveled is therefore 7,984 miles.We can only assume the odometer failed at some stage and had to be replaced. The service book and service invoices show this car has been regularly maintained by Jaguar specialists including Jaguar Cars Ltd in Coventry and Don Law in Stoke-on-Trent, UK.

The car remained in storage for many years and it has recently been recommissioned by classic Jaguar specialists, Mike Roddy Motors, in Melbourne.

The car is now reluctantly offered for sale and is ready to be enjoyed by its new owner.

Highlights:

• a UK delivered factory right hand drive example.
• this is understood to be 1 of only 4 Jaguar XJ220’s in Australia.
• confirmed as ‘matching numbers’ chassis and engine.
• finished in its original colour scheme of ‘Le Mans Blue’ with a ‘Smoke Grey Interior’.
• With only 7,984 miles travelled the car presents like new.
• the car has it has books including the original service book and a good history file.