The Jaguar XJS, produced for an astonishing 21 years, is not a car that should have ever gone racing. It’s big and heavy, with lots of concessions for luxury that don’t work on the track. Of course, Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) didn’t care about any of that and campaigned one anyway.
Following some on-track success, the company started offering customized, roadgoing versions for Jag customers who wanted a little something extra. These rare, original TWR coupes command a bit of a premium thanks to their unique modifications that TWR offered a la carte. These ranged from sports exhaust to a 6.0-liter V12 engine upgrade (from the standard 5.3-liter version).=. And now, nearly 50 years after the model was introduced, company scion Fergus Walkinshaw, designer Khyzyl Saleem, and be-dreadlocked Porsche enthusiast Magnus Walker are teaming up to bring the XJS into the present day with the 600-horsepower TWR Supercat.
The first question that any sane person would ask is, “why?!?” followed by how much it is, how many are being made, and whether they can buy one. As to why it’s being made, the answer is simple. Fergus Walkinshaw, son of Tom Walkinshaw, has recently resurrected his father’s company and plans to start things off with a splash. The company will be making 88 examples of the Supercat in honor of the 1988 Le Mans victory of the Jaguar/Tom Walkinshaw Racing XJR-9 prototype. Each one will cost 225,000 Great British pounds ($281,761 at the time of publication).
The Supercat is based around a supercharged V12 engine that produces 600 horsepower, mated exclusively to a six-speed manual transmission. The Khyzyl Saleem–designed body is built on a real XJS and made from carbon fiber. While the styling is hyper-aggressive and extremely dramatic, we’re curious as to whether it will work to provide real downforce at speed – not that many of these are likely to see a racetrack.
For now, the restomod XJS exists only in these renderings of the exterior. As to the Supercat’s other mechanical bits and pieces or even what the interior looks like, we’re being kept in the dark until the car’s official unveiling, planned for Summer 2024. That being said, we’re pretty damned excited about it and already plan on bothering TWR for a drive as soon as the Supercat debuts.
