1994 Jaguar XJ220 Coupe

The Jaguar XJ220 was introduced to the public in 1988 at the Birmingham Motor Show. Sir John Egan, the director of Jaguar, had overseen the project along with Tom Walkinshaw. Walkinshaw, along with his company Tom Walkinshaw Racing, had experience in racing and winning. Walkinshaw had won the Group 'C' World Championship with Jaguar - and Jaguar had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1988 with their XJR9LM. The list of accomplishments between the two is extensive and their union to create a road going supercar was a successful one.

One of the goals was to create a car that could challenge Ferrari's F40. The result was a 542 horsepower monster matted to a five-speed transaxle and sitting atop an aluminum-honeycomb chassis. An gorgeous aluminum and composite bodywork finished off the design. The engine used was a V6 with help from twin-turbochargers. Zero-to-sixty for the 3500 pounds vehicle took just over four seconds while speeds of 220 mph was obtainable.

With help from TWR, the Jaguar XJ220 won the 1993 Le Mans GT class. This had been the vehicles first attempt at winning this glorious honor.

This vehicle was brought to the 2007 Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction presented by RM Auctions, where it had an estimated value of $200,000-$250,000. It is powered by a V6 engine that displaced 3498cc and produces 542 horsepower with the help of twin Garrett T3 turbochargers. There is a five-speed manual transmission and four-wheel vented disc brakes. There are less than 700 original miles and finished in placid LeMans Blue paint. Fitting to the vehicles name, the lot was sold for $220,000 including buyer's premium and falling within the estimated value range.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2007