V12 Into an XJ220: Ultimate Jaguar Engine Swap?
While it’s rare, the Jaguar XJ220 isn’t really a collector favorite. So why haven’t we seen someone swap in a V12?
As I’ve written about on Jaguar Forums extensively, the Jaguar XJ6 was the car that made me fall in love with cars. And long before I ever bought my beloved 1978 Series II, I had a large diecast model of the XJ220 on my bedroom dresser. Now, back then, I didn’t know all that much about cars. But I did know that the mighty Jaguar looked the business, and that for a time, it was the fastest car in the world. More well-read fans, however, knew that the development of the XJ220 was a rocky road.
Originally, Jaguar’s halo car was supposed to feature all-wheel drive, along with a V12 engine. Along thew way, however, both of those features got dropped, as the engineers ultimately went with rear-wheel drive and — more disappointingly — a twin-turbo V6. Such backtracking from Coventry understandably cooled buyer interest significantly. As a result, the Jaguar XJ220 stumbled out of the gate — even if it did manage to hit a whopping 212 mph.
That said, though this Le Mans veteran Jaguar XJ220 C LM went for a little over $800,000 last year, in the decades since the debut of the XJ220, prices have never really taken off. Which made me wonder: Why has no super-rich gearhead bought an XJ220 and swapped in a Jaguar V12? Because if you have the cash, picking up an XJ220 isn’t going to be too hard, and searching any Craigslist in North America will likely reveal an old XJS with the V12 for sale. Hell, given the money at play, this gorgeous racing mill from Building the Dream sounds like just the ticket.
As someone who is a massive fan of engine-swapped Jaguars, a project like this seems like it’d produce the ultimate example. There’s plenty of room in the big cat’s engine bay to take the V12, and there are loads of people who have stoked those engines to well north of 600 horsepower. So eclipsing the stock output of 542 ponies wouldn’t be an issue. Plus, you’d have an XJ220 that’d wail like a banshee — and maybe even achieve the original target of 220 mph…
Photos: Jaguar, Building the Dream