So when Law pretended to be desperate for one the company eventually pointed to the lump in the back of their Transit. An adjustable rear wing that could be folded into the bodywork was also designed into the concept.The XJ220’s concept was finished in the early hours of 18 October 1988 and shown to the world that very day at the British International Motor Show in Birmingham, four months after Jaguar had claimed victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This led to a number of customers cancelling their orders for the car.The 3.5-litre V6 engine used in the production XJ220 was a heavily redesigned Austin Rover V64V V6 engine. Since then, Law and his team have continued to develop the van’s chassis and engine, upgrading numerous parts for better performance and handling.There’s a great video walkthrough of the van including footage of it being used in anger, below:It’s the same van used in Top Gear UK when they raced against the Australian Top Gear team.Not the first ‘Hot Transit’ back in the 1970’s Ford apprentices grafted a GT40 lump/transaxle into a MK 1 Trannie! In standard tune the engine produced around 540hp at 7,200rpm and 644Nm at 4,500rpm. Five of these engines still existed when the XJ220 was being designed and were chosen as the inclusion of a dry sump meant that the car could have a low centre of gravity, especially useful for a performance car like the XJ220. Three XJ220-C’s were entered with the one driven by John Nielsen, David Brabham and David Coulthard, winning the GT class, beating Porsche by two laps. …

The V12 also had trouble simultaneously meeting emissions standards, while producing the required torque and power.Jaguar and TWR’s redesigned V64V engine was named the JV6 and it received extensive strengthening and modifications to accommodate the two Garrett TO3 turbos fitted. So when Law pretended to be desperate for one the company eventually pointed to the lump in the back of their Transit.Stipulations of the sale meant the Transit was supposed to be cut up and crushed, but this, thankfully, was not to be. It was decided that further high speed testing would occur at the Nardo Ring in Italy in June 1992. 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Martin Brundle was chosen to drive the XJ220 for this second record breaking run.Jaguar then made a number of modifications to the car that included removing the car’s catalytic converters and increasing the rev limiter to 7,900rpm, which resulted in a top speed pushing 350km/h. JaguarSport formed a new company, Project XJ220 Ltd., specifically to develop and build the XJ220.The team that would determine the necessary engineering work and assess the car's financial viability was put in place during mid-1989, working from the TWR workshops. However, the celebrations were short lived, with the car being disqualified for failing to run with catalytic converters.Four XJ220’s were entered in the GT1 class for the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. Forza Edition Jaguar and TWR had an existing joint venture, JaguarSport Ltd. formed in 1987 to produce racing cars. By Richardaucock / . The use of a V6 meant that the car could have a shorter wheelbase, reducing weight. This meant that the car could go from 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds and onto a top speed over 340km/h.The initial 341.7km/h (212.3mph) world speed record run was done at Fort Stockton, Texas. The XJ220-S features one-piece carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer bodywork and a tuned 690hp engine. This wasn’t the only problem for the XJ220.

The conclusion was that such a car would be technically feasible (subject to engineering changes) and that it would be financially viable.Jaguar were unable to develop the XJ220 in-house as the available engineering resources were committed to working on the XJ and XJS models. The displacement of the V12 engine was set at 6.2 litres for the XJ220. This is the story of the Ford Transit that helped Jaguar build the XJ220 supercar. Jaguar’s decision to change the power unit of the car was due to the engine’s weight and dimensions, as well as the emissions it produced. The 3.5-litre V6 engine used in the production XJ220 was a heavily redesigned Austin Rover V64V V6 engine. The chassis featured two box section rails which acted as the suspension mounting points and would provide an energy absorbing structure in the event of a frontal impact. The use of a V6 meant that the car could have a shorter wheelbase, reducing weight.

The concept car had a targeted top speed of 220mph (350km/h) so it became known as the XJ220. Two were entered by PC Automotive Jaguar and the other two by Chamberlain Engineering, although the latter did not run their cars.

Its chassis was derived from TWR's Group C racer that won Le …

The XJ220 is unrelated with the other XJ models, although shares the same name 'XJ'. This was because Randle called in favours from various component suppliers and engineering companies that had supplied Jaguar in the past. Jaguar XJ220. Review: July 31, 2013. Despite this record breaking run, Jaguar had hoped to reach 220mph with the XJ220. Jaguar already had an existing joint venture with TWR, called JaguarSport Ltd, which was set up in 1987 to produce racing cars.