A bit of perspective on the XJ220 (video, 4:42)

Hi Paul, it's a road spec car , Chassis #50
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Superb, you have excellent taste

 

Hi,

You are right, that most did not do it, and BMW who used a turbo in their top-of-the-line luxury model for years (or decades) did not use the word "Turbo" anywhere, but named it with the engine size logic as "745i" in comparison to the naturally aspirated 730i and 735i.

That was also perhaps due to the problems experienced with the 2002 turbo and in general in those days turbos were considered unreliable. IIRC in F1 the consensus was that the turbos could win, if they did not blow up before the checkered flag!

Saab went through a lot of effort to prove their 900 and 9000 Turbos reliable and did a marketing stunt of driving four cars at 200km/h (125mph) for 100.000kms in one go with only oil changes and refills without problems.

I think nobody complained about their 288 GTO or F40 not having a big heavy V12, or did they?

But yes, I agree that sure in those days a V12 or a V8 sounded more sexy than a V6 or an IL4 or 6. So the didappointment was understandable. From what I have read dropping the V12 had two main reasons: weight and emissions. It was far easier to build the TTV6 to meet the emissions standards of the era.

Again with the Ferrari legacy, I don't think the IL4's of the 1950's or the V6's and V8's that won races and grand prix were considered of much lesser value. Sure the engine bay of a 335S is more stunning than that of a 750 Monza or 500 TRC, but I would be happy to play with one even if only has four cylinders.

The XJ220 did perform very well, and I still think it does. The Testarossas and alike also suffer from the same syndrome of period plastic components in the cockpit, but I personally think all the billet stuff in the ultra-exotic cars is bit rediculos, like tarting up something where you really would not need it. But I'm certainly not one of the folks buying those cars new, so my opinion does not matter one bit there with the Paganis and Königseggs, I just admit that certain parts inside an XJ220 or a 512TR look cheap by todays standards, but they are how those cars were made back them. Personally I have never owned any car made between 1975 and 1995.

Cheers,

Pekka T.
Fin.

 

Parts bin sharing for interiors is never going to be popular. As nice as current audi interiors are, it would bother me if I had a bentley that they use exact same parts. Dont even try to disguise it in least

 

Um, wasn't the Porsche 959 the first production car to break 200 mph? Then the F40, then xj220. Now just about everything goes 200+. It's a shame most of us will never get to experience this

 

The XJ220 story has been regurgitated and beaten to death forever. How about some owner experiences. Jas and i cannot be the only 2 owners on this forum

 

There was a time when I was looking at one.
I could have just afforded it but the stories of the maintenance costs drove me away.
"The" service center in the US told me of one in their shop waiting for a water pump. (Jaguar had stepped back from supporting the car) It had been waiting for a year as they told me.

My supercars have to be "practical" unfortunately.

 

Like usual, people like to embellish stories to suit their purpose, and this comment is not aimed at you but the service center. If they knew what they were doing, the car would not be sitting around for a year waiting for a water pump, assuming that is true too.
It is a cosworth motor, not rocket science to get a pump for it.