Life with an XJ220

[RS_Phil]

matt_knowles said:

Wow! There is just something about these that i just love.

As a kid I grew up in Harrogate and my step dad took me to the local Jag dealership (think it was Appleyard back in the day). They had a launch night and I manged to get to sit in one, and can remember it vividly. Shutting the drives door and soaking in the details.

As we were about to leave my dad said to the sales guy "we'll take one, where do I fill out the paperwork?" I nearly passed out then it dawned on my he was buying me a model (exactly like the one above). To this day I still have they model and it's sat proudly alongside my F40. Both amazing cars.

Now living in Dubai I noticed a local showroom has one in (In green too!) I keep meaning to stop by and take a look! I'll probably have to take myself down this weekend and get some snaps.

http://www.tominiclassics.com/collections/97/Jagua...

Thanks for sharing Phil.....amazing car!

Ah... a fellow Dubai man. Hello!

[RS_Phil]

matt_knowles said:

Howdy!

So do you drive anything fancy over this way?

The germans are based over this way. Couple of them here.

[RS_Phil]

Jester86 said:

I think you may have won Pistonheads.

Thank you for sharing.

Very kind of you

[RS_Phil]

Dr Nookie said:

Or at all in my case.

Oddly I had the same issue. Time is irrelevant as is education to some extent.

[RS_Phil]

Rangeroverover said:

Do your clothes get nicely warmed through by the proximity of the exhausts

They do get a bit toastie. No worse than an R35 though.

[RS_Phil]

ALawson said:

Lands End. Epic Stuff.

Is that lowered VW running 911 running gear or anything else exotic?

It started life as an original (rough around the edges) 1968 Westfalia and subsequently had a raft of work done to it to get what we wanted. Air suspension, engine and box raise, suspension tubs front and rear and a 1776cc motor to keep it popping along. As a family we hit the road every year and disconnect.

As a Porsche nut I took approval from the BRUMOS team and created a drivers camper... less the wheels at this stage.

Edited by RS_Phil on Friday 9th September 15:12

[RS_Phil]

designforlife said:

Utterly fantastic car, but one of the worst "Reader's cars" threads I've read...I assume writing copy isn't a strong suit.

Thankfully I'm happy how the written word has progressed my life. It's a bit like bumping uglies; it takes two to tango.

Fire me questions and I'll do my best to be open and honest all the way.

[RS_Phil]

Shall we throw some pictures into the mix?

[RS_Phil]

Don1 said:

Found an old picture of the boot space you talked about....



(Am I right in remembering this is after the space upgrade? The original is smaller?)

Negative, that's stock. Mine is circa 4/5 times deeper.

[RS_Phil]

Fast Bug said:

Ah I think I've worked out who you are Phil!

Did you had a White Beetle on Erco's that my friend Mighty White now has? You came racing with us at Santa Pod for (I think) the Retro Car Show years ago

Well well... that's a throw back. Yes Sir, that's me.

[RS_Phil]

traffman said:

One of the few threads ive read from the first page!
Such an epic car and thank you for sharing it amongst us.
There should be more like yourself.

Keep the pics coming!

My pleasure and thank you for the comments.

Just for you....

[RS_Phil]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

RS Phil - your life clearly hasn't worked out the way you'd hoped, and these must be difficult times.

I'm a selfless fellow. If I can help at all, by driving your old Jag for instance, I'd love to be able to help you out.

Just let me know; I'm here for you man.

Hook a brother up with the insurance payments and you're on :-)

[RS_Phil]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

Be careful, I might just take you up on that!

As an aside, as a glimpse into the reality of supercar ownership, what sort of ball-park figure does insurance for these things cost? I assume you don't just stick your details into a compariosn webite!

Sits just under 3k to ensure it.

[RS_Phil]

Smokey32 said:

Wow amazing car, and the colour, wow!

I remember these were supposed to be really wide weren't they? Id imagine there not as wide now, with modern cars getting bigger.

They're still as wide as they always were. 7ft ish is plenty wide for any car.

[RS_Phil]

bobdylan said:

What industry do I need to get into to start and finance my own super jaguar collection phil ?

I wish I could help you with that question. It was more a case of chasing a dream and working hard on a goal for me. I created a list when I was younger and started to tick them off.

[RS_Phil]

Shewie said:

I've got to say i'm loving this thread. Didn't realise there was so much love in the room for the big Jag.
Although the F40 is the car I'd ultimately buy if I won the lottery, I can't help thinking how much of a profound effect the silver XJ220 I saw at the Birmingham Motor Show had on me as a 15 year old. It looked like something from outer space and ultimately seemed massively unwieldy. I guess that's what supercars should be about? It still looks so purposeful. Thanks for sharing. Every drive must truly be an event...

It was interesting to see that in action. I scooted down to the Revival a couple of years ago with my friend and business partner. He was in the red thing behind... the big green fatty was getting all the attention though. On the road and in the car park.

[RS_Phil]

Vroom101 said:

Such a great thread - thanks for sharing, Phil

I do have some more questions, if you don't mind answering them...

Can you go into more detail about the modifications to the car? Where did that extra 140bhp appear from? And what else has been done? Please be as detailed and beardy as you like

Did you have the work done, or was the car already like that when you bought it?

One of the first things I did after seeing this thread was go to the classifieds to see how much they go for. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was surprised how little they are up for, considering their status at the time they came out. £350k for a car with only two thousand miles on it?! That's got to be a bargain, especially compared to some of the silly prices being asked for similar exotica.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/j...

Now I won't be so rude as to ask what you paid for yours, but if prices suddenly did go sky high, would you sell it, or is it a keeper? And coming at it from the other side, would you have bought it if it was considerably more expensive?

Also, have you had any epic road trips in the car? Across Europe for example? It looks like the perfect supercar to take on such a journey.

Thanks again for sharing, and I hope you have many more happy miles in it

Ok. Let's give this a go.

The engine mods are a developed version of the XJ220S from Don and Justin. Revised turbo's, straight through stainless pipes (available in 2.5" or 3"), a tweak to the map and some additional secret herbs and spices.

Most of the work was already done by Don when it came into my custodianship. It makes a lot of sense for Don Law Racing to continue the 'cut short' development curve and push the car in the direction it deserves. Their blue car is a good example of that, churning 800+ with all manner of further driveline and chassis mods.

Yeah the market has been somewhat strange. Someone else mentioned the R plate fitted to the car... which if you dig a bit deeper reveals my car to be one of the 50 that found themselves unsold and subsequently scooped up by the then Grange dealer group. Prices back then tumbled well below a 100K and have been on an upward curve since then.

In terms of what was paid for this one.. a lot less than they are currently going for. To also tackle your 'would you still buy one' question. The answer is quite simply no. I took the opportunity to jump at the time and fulfilled a dream. I've been a touch lucky with the 'futures' element to car ownership over the years having jumped on vehicles that are now so far gone they would be impossible to purchase. The RS's for instance and the XJR-15. Sell it? Only when the need to support my father and mother becomes unfeasible... which I hope is not the case. However I'm pragmatic enough to understand that may happen if the wind changes direction.

Epic road trips have been there yes. Mostly weekend blasts with my wife to enjoy great roads, food and b&b life. I've not had the opportunity of hitting main land Europe with it yet as we always take the bus and enjoy that time with the kids. That will change in the coming twelve months though with a bunch of trips in the works with my Dad now that he has retired.

[RS_Phil]

The day my bearded friend was introduced to the big girl. Went from cheeRS to booST.

[RS_Phil]

TheLordJohn said:

That's obviously the prototype I saw it at Gaydon last month. Along with the first production model
The inlet trumps on the prototype look absolutely fantastic from the front. And the whole car is just sensational.

Thanks very much for sharing this thread; the colour just takes it to another level.
Tell me, OP, do you need a mechanical engineer/diesel man in Dubai...!?

The one that ended up with the big 12 in the back.

[RS_Phil]

TheLordJohn said:

On a serious note OP, how did you get into working in the Middle East?

I spent a huge chunk of my childhood over here with my parents (an expat brat as such), starting in Saudi as a five week old petrol head. Fast forward beyond A-Levels and Degree stress, I hunted work to get me back. My Father by this time was on his own and was playing the mercenary travelling between the likes of Algeria, Libya, KSA and the UAE. At the time the UAE was becoming the hub of all things automotive across the region and after trying every avenue I could find, I landed a gig in the early 2000's. Oddly by that time, he had returned to the UK, however it didn't take him long to come back and play the consummate Grand Dad to my boys. I broke out of the formal corporate world 7yrs ago now but still work within the automotive landscape with work stretching across the region as a whole, along with the USA.

I stick around because I love the life, the culture, the friends I've made and of course the weather.