Origins
In the 1980s, Jaguar's chief engineer Jim Randle, as part of an informal group called "The Saturday Club", began work on a concept car, code-named XJ220, which - if put into production - could compete in a potential new Group B racing category. He saw it as competition for cars such as the Ferrari F40 and Porsche 959 and wanted to re-capture the glory years of Jaguar racing from the 50s and 60s. He envisioned what was essentially an updated XJ13 - a lightweight two-seater with a powerful mid-mounted V12 engine. Randle expanded on the idea by settling on all-wheel drive and an integral safety-cage so the car could be safely raced at extremely high speeds.
Read more about this topic: Jaguar XJ220
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