Jaguar only made 275 examples of the XJ220 supercar back in the early '90s, but a true XJ220C is literally one-of-a-kind.
Thankfully, for someone with a healthy bank account, there's
one headed to auction.
Auction house Bonhams will see off this 1993 Jaguar XJ220C
at its Bond Street Sale on next month. This is the race car that
captured the GT-class title at the 1993 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, it
has an even more of an interesting story than just that.
The XJ220C did, in fact, cross the finish line in first
place, but it was later stripped of its title and disqualified after regulators
discovered the car didn't run catalytic converters. For a month, the XJ220C was
the official champion. But, it still sort of is in our eyes.
The car isn't road-legal, obviously, and it still wears its
racing number 50 and John Nielsen, David Brabham, and David Coulthard
driver stickers. Power came from a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine
related to the unit fitted to the road-going XJ220, which was rated at 542
horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque.
Another rare Jaguar racer will cross the Bonhams
auction block, too. The XJR6 of 1985 wasn't nearly as successful as the XJ220C,
but it did manage a win at Silverstone. All three XJR6 entries retired
early at Le Mans mid-race. Yet, the car would go on to heavily influence the
highly successful XJR12. The racer will likely fetch somewhere between $2.9
million and $3.7 million.
As for the XJ220C, that's also estimated to sell in the $3
million range.
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