The Jaguar XJ220 is a supercar
that often gets unfairly left out of the conversation of all-time greatest cars.
This is because the XJ220 arrived at a time when the Porsche
959 and Ferrari [NYSE:RACE] F40 had already captured the hearts and minds of
auto-loving folks around the globe and McLaren was about to drop its F1. Jaguar
also made the mistake of promising the car with a V-12 and then launching it
with a V-6.
Still, it's a car that was king of the production car
overall speed title. Guinness recognized it thusly thanks to its 217.1 mph top
speed, which kept the Jag in this place until the McLaren F1 came along.
Close to 300 were made, and the remaining cars are surely
cherished by their owners. However, we what may not be so cherished is the
limited availability of parts for the car. Remember, production ended over two
decades ago.
There's a shop in the United Kingdom that actually produces
parts for the XJ220 should one of the cars require something. It's
called Don Law Racing and recently it teamed up with Bridgestone to
develop a new tire for the remaining Jaguar XJ220s that exist on the planet.
This falls in line with the 25th anniversary of the car in
2017. Bridgestone is developing the new tire in cooperation with the original
Jaguar engineers and test drivers that worked on the XJ220, and it's using a
pre-production chassis to make sure it all works as planned. The new tire is
sized as 255/45ZR17 for the front and a massive 345/55/ZR18 out back.
Interestingly, Jaguar’s own classic car department Jaguar
Classic has teamed up with Pirelli to also develop a tire for the XJ220.
Pirelli’s tire will be a P Zero design that will look like the
classic tires used during the XJ220’s heyday but with the latest tire compounds
and technologies. This includes internal damping within the tire to even out
shocks, lessen noise, and provide more precise control while increasing
comfort.
If you're planning on hitting that 217 mile per hour top speed
in your XJ220, perhaps you should wait until your new tires are ready. You
might even grab another mph or two with that new rubber.
source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1106072_bridgestone-and-pirelli-developing-new-tires-for-the-jaguar-xj220
by Jeff Glucker
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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