Tom Walkinshaw Racing Returns with Mighty V12-Powered Jaguar XJS Redesign
Some 14 years after the passing of Tom Walkinshaw, his son Fergus has built a supercar based on the Jaguar XJS that his father campaigned successfully in European racing years ago.
In launching the new Supercat, TWR says it has assembled a team of technical and operational talent from the likes of McLaren, Ferrari, Porsche, Williams, Mercedes F1, and Renault F1.
Production is promised by the fourth quarter of 2024 and will be limited to 88 units, with a US sticker price of $282,622.
Tom Walkinshaw Racing is back, with a wild-looking 600-hp V12-powered retake on the mighty Jaguar XJS, a coupe so sleek it almost defined British cool in the 1970s and 1980s.
TWR was founded in 1975 by Scottish racer Tom Walkinshaw, a driver, team owner, and team manager who got his start on the grid as a driver in everything from Formula Ford, Formula 2, Formula 3, and Formula 5000 to the British Touring Car Championship, the latter where he piloted a Ford Capri.
But it was his time spent at the wheel of a Jag XJS that moved his career path toward the leaping cat, after he campaigned XJSs successfully in everything from the European Touring Car Championship to the Bathurst 1000.
Walkinshaw was engineering director at the Benetton F1 team and even owned the Arrows F1 team. But it may be his Group C efforts with Jaguars for which he was best known. Tom Walkinshaw Racing won Le Mans twice in Jaguars, in 1988 and 1990, and won the World Sports Car championship three times.
Now, 14 years after the passing of his father, it is only natural that Walkinshaw’s son Fergus should build a supercar based on the XJS.
“After more than two years of extensive design, engineering and development work, we are proud to unveil the design of TWR’s debut product,” said Fergus. “The outcome is a true drivers’ Super-GT built from the foundations of the iconic Jaguar XJS and appropriately named the Supercat.”
However, the reveal you see here is only of the exterior design. TWR says to expect a “full dynamic debut this summer,” adding the Supercat is currently in a “production-ready state.”
TWR claims Fergus “…has gathered a group of technical and operational talent from the most celebrated names in motorsport and performance car development. This includes: McLaren, Ferrari, Porsche, Williams, Mercedes F1, and Renault F1.”
Nonetheless, other than the promise of 600 hp from a V12, technical details are missing from today’s announcement. It should be a good sports car if everything goes as planned.
“Fergus and his incredible team are adding to TWR’s legacy by rewriting the rules of contemporary performance GT design,” said style icon and media hero Magnus Walker, who consulted on the project.
“Like every collector and enthusiast, I love the Jaguar XJS as an iconic expression of a British GT. TWR’s uncompromising approach to delivering pure performance and driver involvement takes this to another level. I couldn’t be more proud to have contributed to this landmark statement of TWR’s bold future.”
Production is promised by the fourth quarter of 2024 and will be limited to 88 units, with a US sticker price of $282,622. Looking forward to hearing more about this potentially very cool car. To make your refundable 10,000-English-Pound deposit, click here.
