660bhp V12 TWR Supercat is what happens when you restomod a Jaguar XJS
Uprated Jaguar sports car gets new look, more power and reworked suspension
The first car TWR has produced since it reemerged into the automotive industry is this - the TWR Supercat. As you can see, it’s a restomod of the Jaguar XJS with the original’s unmistakable lines accentuated by a beefy bodykit, plus plenty of extra power, thanks to a supercharged V12.
Appearing in public for the first time, the TWR Supercat is ‘available to commission’ now, with production limited to 88 examples. Those who want TWR’s handiwork will have to fork out a £35,000 deposit for a ‘build slot’ plus at least £225,000 for the car itself. TWR says it has already taken orders in the US, UK, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with right and left-hand drive configurations available.
Fergus Walkinshaw, Director and Founder of TWR, and son of Tom Walkinshaw (who established Tom Walkinshaw Racing in the seventies), said of the new creation, “Almost 40 years after my father’s original company dominated the racetrack, we’ve brought the TWR name roaring back with our new Supercat. Built on the foundations of the classic Jaguar XJS, it uses modern materials and production methods, plus our in-house supercharged V12, to deliver a visceral, immersive driving experience on the road and the track.”
As you’d expect, the XJS underpinnings are significantly re-worked to create the Supercat. The steel monocoque of the Jaguar is reinforced with carbon fibre, and there’s further carbon fibre on that aggressive bodykit, bringing the car’s kerbweight down by 165kg to 1,605kg. Tubular steel is used for the new subframe, there’s a redesigned double-wishbone suspension with ‘active dynamic damping’ on the front and a multilink rear, big 18-inch front and 19-inch rear forged ‘Monoblock’ wheels (replacing 15-inch rims) and massive six-pot and four-pot calipers front and rear respectively to make sure the Supercat stops as well as it goes.
It should go pretty quickly too. A world away from the original, mild-mannered XJS, the Supercat is the “perfect tool for driving to the Nürburgring”, TWR says. That’s partly due to the extensive chassis revisions, but also thanks to the 5.6-litre supercharged V12 that pumps out 660bhp and 730Nm of torque - well over double the figures in the original Jaguar. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential; there are even five levels of traction control and a launch-control system.
The interior of the Supercat is modernised with two carbon-back fully electric leather seats and a touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
Established in 1975, Tom Walkinshaw Racing (known as ‘TWR’) specialised in competition touring cars and created iconic models like the Rover Vitesse and Volvo 850 Estate. But away from the track, TWR helped develop cars like the Aston Martin DB7 and Renault Clio V6 – showcasing the firm’s breadth of ability. Arguably the most well known work TWR did was the V12-powered Jaguar XJR that won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990.
The firm’s successful relationship with Jaguar began with the XJS, culminating in the car winning the European Touring Car Championship in 1984. The cost of buying Formula One team Arrows in the nineties led to the demise of TWR in the early 2000s, but the name was revived last year by Fergus Walkinshaw.
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