Jaguar XJ13 by Tempero

Details

Coming soon to Oldtimer Australia is this very exciting Jaguar XJ13 by Tempero.

The name Tempero is very well known in the coach building world, going back to 1946 when Alan Tempero started his business in Oamaru, New Zealand. Today the business is run by Rod Tempero who learned the trade working for his father Errol Tempero. They have built magnificent recreations of some of the most iconic cars of the 1950’s and 1960’s, including the Jaguar C-Type, Jaguar D-Type, Jaguar XJ13, Aston Martin DBR2, Ferrari 250 GTO and Maserati A6GCS just to name a few.

It is understood that Tempero built six XJ13’s in the 1990’s. Four were sold in the USA, one in New Zealand and one in Australia.

This very small production run was built based on original factory drawings. Tempero went to great lengths to reproduce the lines, methods and materials of the original construction. The aluminium body was built on an aluminium monocoque as specified and to original specifications, such as the weight and dimensions. It features the modified E-type front suspension of the original and mirrors the mounting system for the dry sump Jaguar V12 engine. The curvaceous windscreen is made from the original Triplex mould.

This car is the 4^th XJ13 built by Tempero and it is the only one delivered new to Australia. It is unique and without a doubt the most significant of the six cars built. It is powered by a TWR Group C V12 engine of engine 7.0 litres capacity, estimated to generate some 600hp!

More information to follow soon.

Preliminary enquiries are welcome

Price: –

 

Background

The Swallow Sidecar Company was founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley. Originally the business focussed on making motorcycle sidecars before the business evolved into coachbuilding. In 1927 Swallow advertised they would make 2-seater bodies on Austin and Morris chassis and running gear. In 1929 Lyons teamed up with Standard Motor Company to produce a sleek boat tail two seater open sports car. The first “SS”. In October 1931 Swallow introduced their first car, the SS 1 at the London Motor Show. In 1932 both the SS1 with its 2 or 2½ litre six cylinder engine and the SS2 with its four cylinder 1 litre engine became available to the public.

In 1934 Walmsley elected to sell out and Lyons formed SS Cars Limited.

The first open two seater was introduced in March 1935, the SS90. Only 23 were made. The SS brand was quite successful, though their cars had a reputation for having ‘more show than go’. To counter act this statement Lyons engaged the services of William Heynes as chief engineer and Harry Westlake for engine tuning. The result of the partnership was engine which produced 102hp and it was first introduced in the SS 2½ Litre Sports Saloon which was launched on 21^st September 1935. This was also the first car to use the name “Jaguar”.

In 1936 Lyons introduced the SS100. A car which today is regarded as one of the great pre-war sports cars. The now famous Jaguar ‘leaper’ was first displayed on an SS100. Only 198 2½ litre and 116 3½ litre cars were produced until production seized when World War II started.

After the War had ended, during a general shareholder meeting on 23^rd March 1945 it was decided to change the company name to Jaguar Cars Limited. William Lyons stated: “Unlike S.S. the name Jaguar is distinctive and cannot be connected or confused with any similar foreign name.”

Jaguar restarted production with the 1½-litre, 2½-litre and 3½-litre saloon cars. They were superseded by the MK V, which then lead to the earlier cars being renamed as MK IV.

However, it was the launch of the legendary Jaguar XK120 at the London Motor Show in 1948 that really put Jaguar back on the map. The car caused a sensation, which persuaded Jaguar founder and design boss William Lyons to put it into production. The 120 in the name referred to its top speed, 120mph, which made it the fastest production car at the time of its launch. To prove the car could do that speed a test was conducted on 30th May 1949, on the empty Ostend-Jabbeke motorway in Belgium. A prototype XK120 achieved an average of runs in opposing directions of 132.6 mph with the windscreen replaced by just one small aero screen and a catalogued alternative top gear ratio, and 135 mph with a passenger-side tonneau cover in place.

Privateers quickly discovered the XK120 was also a fabulous race car and when Jaguar took notice of this, they decided to create a competition version of the XK120, the XK120C. The name quickly changed to C-type. The first three cars produced in 1951 were immediately entered into the 24hr of Le Mans. Two of them failed to finish but the third one, driven by Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead won the event outright. In 1953 the three factory C-types finished first, second and fourth.

The C-type was superseded by the D-type in 1954. Just like the C-type the D-type was a great success for Jaguar at Le Mans. It won the event in 1955, 1956 and 1957. Jaguar itself withdrew from racing in 1956 though 1957 proved to be the most successful year for the D-type taking 5 of the top 6 places.

In the mid 1960’s Jaguar started developing a new mid-engined prototype race car to compete at Le Mans. The XJ13. It was to be powered by a 5.0 litre quad cam V12 engine producing around 500hp. Only 7 or 8 or these engines were ever built by Jaguar. Unfortunately, delays in development and other priorities resulted in the car never actually racing. In 1966 the regulations for Le Mans were changed restricting the engine in prototypes to a maximum capacity of 3.0 litres, making the XJ13 obsolete.

In 1967 during testing at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) test track racing driver David Hobbs set a lap record of 259km/h. It was calculated the car would have been able to achieve 289km/h on the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans.

On the 21st January 1971 the XJ13 was taken to the MIRA test track for a promotion shoot for the new Jaguar E-type V12. Unfortunately, a tyre puncture caused the car to crash severely. Fortunately, Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis miraculously escaped with only a few bruises, however, the car was severley damaged.

In 1972 the car was rebuilt by Abby Panels and in 2005 it was completely restored. It is now part Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection and on display at the British Motor Museum.

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