Wednesday 23rd September 2015
Jaguar XJ220: PH Heroes
Folly or fabulous?
Folly or fabulous? A PH Heroes return permits a second crack of the whip for Jaguar's flawed gem
It might have been an unfashionable choice, but the XJ220 was always 'my' supercar, the one I felt the closest connection to as a pimply teenager with both a fresh driving licence and a 45hp Nissan Micra. The first reviews of Jaguar's long-awaited supercar were published a couple of months after I passed my driving test, and I believed every bit of the hagiographic hype. This was the Brit to beat Ferrari at its own game, the fastest production car in the world; right up there with the jet engine, the Thermos flask and the Kiss Me Quick hat in terms of significant UK achievements.
Even when, a couple of years afterwards, it was decided the XJ220 was actually one of those glorious British failures I kept most of my faith. Just looking at its chunky form makes me feel like a teenager again. I've been lucky enough to drive many of the cars I grew up lusting after, but I've never even sat in an XJ220 until today.
Still pretty; still pretty massive too
Split personalitySo which was right - those original praise-laden roadtests, or the received wisdom that has followed that the XJ220 was an also-ran, the wrong car at the wrong time? It might have briefly held the Top Trumps bragging rights of quickest car in the world (an official 213mph), but most attention has always been focused on its struggle to find buyers.
The timing could not have been much worse. The original XJ220 concept was shown at the 1988 British Motor Show (alongside the Ferrari F40) and featured a mid-mounted V12 engine, four-wheel drive and gullwing doors. It wasn't intended for production, but there was enough interest to make Jaguar press the green button, development of the production version then taking another four years. This emerged after the speculative bubble in supercar prices had collapsed, meaning that many of those who had paid deposits desperately tried to get out of purchasing one. Their cases helped by the fact the production XJ220 was powered by a twin-turbocharged V6 engine, was rear-wheel drive and had even lost the upward hinged doors that contemporary supercar buyers seemed to expect on everything. Only 280 of the planned 350 run were built, with several languishing unsold for years.
Yet the rehabilitation has long since started. Values are still nowhere near those of the McLaren F1, obviously - or even the Ferrari F40 - but they have started to rise in recent years; new blood is clearly being attracted. Hindsight also suggests the XJ220 was well ahead of the curve in other ways, with its combination of a high output V6, rear-drive, lightweight construction and advanced aerodynamics making it look like a blueprint for the forthcoming Ford GT, 25 years ahead of time. And regardless of whether you believe the top speed was anything other than a marketing priority, it's hard to argue with the engineering credentials of a car that held the Nordschleife production lap record for eight years...
Speed certainly 21st century; brakes aren't
As good as newDriving most older cars means making allowances for wear and tear and what classic dealers like to call 'patina', but this privately-owned XJ220 is in truly immaculate condition. Apart from some cracking on the driver's seat bolster it's like it's 1992 and I've been thrown the keys to a brand new one, only without the need to wear stonewashed jeans. This opportunity has come about as part of a wider story about Jaguar's newly launched Heritage Division, and our discovery that many XJ220s have been 'works serviced' by Jaguar at Browns Lane since they were new. The owner of this one has very generously allowed PH to have a go while it's in for some routine maintenance, despite the fact that every mile we do will add appreciably to the 1,680 showing on the odometer.
It's a proper turn, too - with exclusive use of Jaguar's newly acquired Fen End track in Warwickshire, previously Prodrive's test track (and before that Girling Brakes'). It's not a race circuit, but it does offer the chance for some decent speed and some big stops. After that the plan is that I'll get to experience the car on road by driving it back to Browns Lane. Beyond a polite reminder there's no traction control, power steering, ABS or even a brake servo I'm told to go and enjoy myself.
You want exciting turbos? You got it!
Dialled inThe conventionally hinged doors don't open very wide and getting in means negotiating a fat sill, but the heavily bolstered seat feels instantly comfortable and the cabin feels functional and well finished. There's plenty of chance for parts bin bingo; every switch and vent started life in something more modest, but the clean design has aged well. There aren't any digital display screens, but no shortage of info with eight supplementary dials, four of which are housed on a separate binnacle on the driver's door. And none of which will receive more than a cursory glance once underway.
It's hard not to feel initially short-changed by the V6 engine, which is loud and tappety at idle - distinctly uncultured compared to the sonorous charms a V12 would have delivered. Yet it's also a reminder that the XJ220 is basically shipping a reworked version of the engine that Austin Rover developed for the Metro 6R4 rally car; proper Group B pedigree - considerably more competition heritage than most supercars of the period.
It takes less than half a lap to confirm that men were definitely expected to be men back then; this is a seriously physical driving experience. The unassisted steering stays heavy even once the car is moving, and the non-servoed brakes are equally macho. A solid shove on the middle pedal produces more muttered expletives than actually retardation, a proper stop requiring a full stamp. The long-throw gearshift needs to be guided carefully between its planes as well - I'm conscious that one journo infamously buzzed and destroyed an engine during the original press launch.
Feeling strong?
But I stop noticing almost everything else as the engine wakes up. The V6's initial responses have felt slightly anaemic, apart from the need to treat the race-spec clutch like an on-off button you can trundle an XJ220 without feeling like it's a caged animal while you do so. But once the turbos start to spin its personality changes instantly, and this really is one of those fabled flick-of-a-switch engines. At 3,999rpm you'd swear it was naturally aspirated, at 4,000rpm it feels like it's on full boost, and you're hanging on for dear life.Even after two decades it still feels seriously rapid, with the binary power delivery making it feel faster still. For perspective the XJ220 boasts the same power output as the notably untardy XKR-S Coupe, but weighs 400kg less. Even with the sort of ultra-cautious braking point dictated by the unproven stoppers I still see 130mph on the speedo on Fen End's (not especially long) main straight, and this is on what's meant to be a sighting lap.
The engine's narrow powerband also shows up the transmission's relative lack of options: with only five speeds and the need to deliver that 220mph top speed there are some chasm-like gaps between the ratios. On slow corners that means counter-intuitively shifting down into first. I also learn quickly that it's best to have the front wheels pointing straight well before the boost arrives, the jolt of torque being more than enough to kick the tail wide in low-speed turns. On a wide, dry track this is amusing; on a rain-sodden Alpine pass, possibly less so...
Yet trust is also quick to build, thanks in large part to the accuracy and communication of the heavy steering. Beyond giving a mild upper-body workout, the lack of assistance isn't an issue - there's lots of feel and enough caster to help keep the front wheels pointing in the intended direction, even when the rear tyres briefly relinquish grip. It does understeer in slower turns if you try and carry in too much speed, but on the faster stuff it feels properly epic once turned in, with more than enough traction to cope with the power. After a few laps I'm even starting to build some confidence in the brakes; the sheer weight you need to put into them means there's little feel, but they haul off speed effectively enough providing they're given enough space.
£150K last year - not anymore!
It was all going so wellI'm about to start another lap - the one where I'll take at least five seconds off the Fen End lap record, obviously - when something catches my eye in the rear view mirror, looking over the top of the engine compartment. It takes half a second to focus and for the image to process: a wisp of smoke. Cue a full anchors-down stop and a very rapid exit with visions of somebody else's irreplaceable supercar burning to the ground in front of me. Fortunately not - it's just oil dripping from a newly-sprung leak in the rocker cover seal onto the hot exhaust. But it's definitely game over for the day, with the problem being that we haven't taken any pictures of the car actually moving yet...
Cue a remarkable bit of fixing as the Jaguar PR team manages to borrow an almost identical XJ220 to finish the shoot in the time it takes to have a coffee and eat a sandwich. And many thanks to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust for lending us their car and getting it to Fen End so quickly (yes, we did swap the plates for continuity). It's been scrambled in a hurry, is overdue a brake service and is riding on tyres that are probably not much younger than the car. Even at a respectful photography pace it doesn't feel like the sort of car I want to be trying to make serious progress in, and maybe there's a wider lesson here about the different views that have developed over the XJ220's merits. I'd certainly love a chance to see what a good one could manage on a stretch of derestricted Autobahn.
Although values have been creeping up, the XJ220 still looks like a bargain by the standards of its contemporaries - prices are still barely a third those of the far more numerous Ferrari F40 and small change compared to a McLaren F1. History hasn't been kind to the Jaguar, but a well-sorted one does feel like a very serious car. You can't fault the engineering, but it does feel like it was built to answer a question that very few owners would ever ask - for the highest top speed rather than deft performance around a track, or much in the way of everyday usability. But I feel hugely honoured to have finally driven one.
JAGUAR XJ220
Engine: 3,498cc twin-turbo V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive, limited-slip differential
Power (hp): 542@7,000 rpm
Torque (lb ft): 475@4,500 rpm
0-60mph: 3.6sec
Top speed: 213mph
Weight: 1,470 kg
On sale: 1992-1994
Price new (1992): £470,000
Price now: £300,000 - £400,000
[Photos: Stuart Price]