Later today Greg will treat you with news of the latest and most exciting developments on four wheels. But before that, lets take a chance to wallow in the mud of the past
My recent encounter with the most sharply clawed Big Cat you could possibly imagine sent me raiding The Carchive for Fast Jag artefacts. In no time at all I came away satisfied, clutching a mid ’80s brochure showing what TWR JaguarSport could do for you and your leaper.


“…A car that retained all the original Jaguar attributes of luxury, silence and effortless performance and add them to the race learnt benefits of increased power, more efficient braking, sharper handling and a visual appearance that would stand out from the crowd”
It’s an intoxicating idea, isn’t it? Take a car which is already widely appreciated and celebrated, and somehow make it even moreso. This was the aim behind JaguarSport, an operation fully sanctioned by Jaguar, and overseen by the masterful Tom Walkinshaw Racing.
So, how did it work? Well, you visited your friendly Jag dealer and exchanged money for a regular XJS of your choice, be it a 3.6 litre Six or the 5.3 V12. You would then take a leisurely drive down to Kidlington in Oxfordhire, where TWR would take your order and then get perform wondrous operations upon your new car.

“The TWR XJ-S offers levels of Hand-Built engineering sophistication unavailable in a production-line vehicle”.
A ten percent increase in power was promised, purely through the installation of a custom stainless-steel full exhaust system, sufficient to bring the top speed of the 5.3 up to beyond 160mph.
You wanted more? Step this way and look at the 6.0 conversion on offer. The V12 is stroked and a new, long-throw crankshaft with forged pistons to suit. Power is lifted to in excess of 380hp with almost 170mph on hand.
To further enhance the driver appeal of your XJS, TWR could fit the manual gearbox that Jaguar refused to offer on their V12 machines. Brakes, of course, are tinkered with to suit, including new four-pot callipers up front with a set of ventilated discs keeping the rear in check.

“The Levels of roadholding are far in excess of those likely to be encountered on the road, but the important balance between handling and ride has not been lost”
I’m not quite sure how, or if they managed that miracle, but that’s what it says here. New springs and TWR-Specific dampers made the difference and reduced the ride height a tad.
To demonstrate to people that yours wasn’t JUST any old XJS, there was a (reasonably) subtle bodykit available, designed by Peter Stevens who would later go on to embolden the visuals of the Rover 75 to create the MG ZT. That’s how legendary he was. At any rate, with the possible exception of the very ’80s two-tone colour schemes, the TWR car was quite a looker.
Of course, due to the inherent mechanical similarities all of the above work could be visited upon a Jaguar XJ Sedan if you so desired, albeit with a slightly less elegant end result. However, the appeal of a 6.0 litre, 380hp Daimler Double Six isn’t lost on me. If TWR could work their magic but leave it stock on the outside, In my fantasy 1985 where I have cash coming out of my arse, I’d pay them a visit straight away.
(All images are of original manufacturer publicity materials, photographed by me. Copyright was originally TWR but who knows who it belongs to now. Whatever, let us know if we’ve upset you)