The Jaguar XJ220 was one of the most anticipated supercars of the 1990s, and like most of them it had to contend with the fact that it was conceived in one economic climate but went on sale in a very different one after enduring many changes. As a result, the XJ220 that debuted in 1992 differed from what was originally planned, but the good news was that it debuted at all — its parent company was hardly in the best financial position during its gestation period.
The most significant change from concept to production was the elimination of the V12 engine in favor of a powerplant with half the cylinder count — a 3.5-liter V6 that underwent quite a few changes itself. But despite a rocky journey from concept to production the XJ220 debuted to a fairly warm reception, even if sales were a fraction of what the company had hoped for and the promised 220 mph top speed was deemed a little optimistic.
Nevertheless, the XJ220 remains a desirable classic, and in a couple of weeks collectors will have not one but two of these to choose from at Silverstone's Sale of British Marques auction scheduled for May 11 in the U.K.
One XJ220 that will be offered by the auction house is a right-hand drive example from the 1995 model year and is finished in Le Mans Blue over a Smoke Grey interior, showing just 700 miles on the clock.
"Discovered by our vendor within an amazing private collection in Malaysia, '220645' was then bought back to these shores and sent to model expert, Don Law, in December 2015," the auction house says.
As expected with such mileage the XJ220 needed recommissioning, the bill for which came in at an eye-watering 25,000 pounds, which translates to about $32,500. The work included a fuel tank replacement, a likely sign that the gasoline had turned into Jell-O and fouled numerous systems, and new tires were also fitted.
"As you can imagine with such little use, the history file is modest but does contain the aforementioned Don Law invoices along with Malaysian export documents," Silverstone Auctions notes.
The auction house estimates this right-hand drive example to fetch between 325,000 and 375,000 pounds on auction day, which translates to a range between $422,000 and $487,000.
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