August 27, 2026

In 1992, the Jaguar XJ220 clocked 212.3 mph to become the fastest production car in the world. Yet buyers dragged the company to court trying to get out of buying it. The trouble started with a broken promise. When Jaguar unveiled the XJ220 concept at the 1988 British International Motor Show, the prototype featured a 6.2-liter V12 engine, an all-wheel-drive system, and scissor doors. Enthusiasts rushed to secure a spot, placing $60,000 deposits to claim one of the 350 planned production models. Engineering realities—including emissions compliance, weight targets, and packaging constraints—forced a complete redesign. The V12 was replaced by a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6, the AWD system was dropped for rear-wheel drive, and the exotic scissor doors were swapped for conventional ones. To make maters worse - the financial market during the early 1990s took a downturn - and the production price ballooned past $550,000. Furious depositors attempted to cancel orders and get refunds, claiming the car they would receive fundamentally differed from what was promised. Jaguar ultimately successfully defended the car's performance lineage in court.
More pics and information here
More pics and information here
Previous week's cars
Keep me in this conversation via email



















