Photo: Ivan Venkov on Behance
The year was 1988 when Jaguar, then an independent automaker thanks to the Thatcher government’s privatization agenda, showed the world what it could do when the leaping cat really means business. Despite the positive reception it got and the flurry of deposits, the XJ220 went back to the drawing board many times until the first unit rolled off the production line.
From four- to rear-wheel-drive, from an orchestral V12 to the raspiness of a twin-turbocharged V6, Jaguar let its public down by not going forward with the engineering marvel the XJ220 was supposed to be. What the British automaker created, however, was a 212.3-mph automotive legend.
The fastest production car from 1992 until the McLaren F1 took the title away from Jaguar, the XJ220 gained cult status among gearheads and casual enthusiasts for all the right and wrong reasons. For me, the way the surge of torque after the initial lag dominates the driving experience is just one of the things that make me an XJ220 diehard. The bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful exterior styling, however, gets me every single time.
Even though it’s sacrilege to improve on perfection, a gentleman going by the name of Ivan Venkov put his drawing skills to the test. Jaguar X is the Bratislava-based designer’s name for the mid-engine supercar he envisioned, and for all intents and purposes, it would be a great starting point for Jaguar if the automaker were to design a succesor for the XJ220.
It’s a shame that Jaguar couldn’t follow up on the XJ220 in the Ford and Tata eras, but all is not lost. The C-X75 of Spectre fame is a testament that Jaguar can still play ball in the realm of mid-engine exotica, whereas the Special Vehicle Operations can make dreams come true provided there’s enough madness and demand for such a hell-bent for leather automobile.
The most extreme Jaguar money can buy at the present moment is the 600-horsepower XE SV Project 8, but come on now! What sort of kid would hang a poster of a super sedan and not a supercar on his bedroom wall?
The fastest production car from 1992 until the McLaren F1 took the title away from Jaguar, the XJ220 gained cult status among gearheads and casual enthusiasts for all the right and wrong reasons. For me, the way the surge of torque after the initial lag dominates the driving experience is just one of the things that make me an XJ220 diehard. The bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful exterior styling, however, gets me every single time.
Even though it’s sacrilege to improve on perfection, a gentleman going by the name of Ivan Venkov put his drawing skills to the test. Jaguar X is the Bratislava-based designer’s name for the mid-engine supercar he envisioned, and for all intents and purposes, it would be a great starting point for Jaguar if the automaker were to design a succesor for the XJ220.
It’s a shame that Jaguar couldn’t follow up on the XJ220 in the Ford and Tata eras, but all is not lost. The C-X75 of Spectre fame is a testament that Jaguar can still play ball in the realm of mid-engine exotica, whereas the Special Vehicle Operations can make dreams come true provided there’s enough madness and demand for such a hell-bent for leather automobile.
The most extreme Jaguar money can buy at the present moment is the 600-horsepower XE SV Project 8, but come on now! What sort of kid would hang a poster of a super sedan and not a supercar on his bedroom wall?
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