Of course the new TWR is a Jag XJS
This TWR picks up where Tom Walkinshaw Racing made its name - with a V12-powered Jaguar hot rod
Though a separate company to Tom Walkinshaw Racing, the new TWR was always going to riff off the legacy of the original entity - not least with Tom’s son Fergus heading up the operation. The stated aim is to ‘draw on the same spirit, drive and innovation that helped make the original TWR a global automotive icon’, after all. So it should come as no surprise at all to learn this TWR will kick off by resurrecting an old TWR favourite - the Jaguar XJS.
It was Walkinshaw Senior’s exploits with the V12 in the European Touring Car Championship that kicked off the Jaguar-TWR partnership that would be so successful. He saw a winner in the XJS, built a Group A spec racer from it, got his best tin-top racing chums to drive it, and romped to victories on a wave of V12 thunder: wins at Spa and Bathurst, European championships… you name it, the XJS won it. There was only one car the new TWR could work with.
Things are a bit different this time around, however, as Magnus Walker will be involved with the design. Ashis Khyzyl Saleem, founder of Live To Offend and with a background in SEMA builds and gaming. Anyone hoping for a delicately reimagined XJS touring car might want to alter their expectations, because it sounds like the new TWR Jag is going to be pretty extreme.
Walker is never short of something to say, and he reckons his role as Design Consultant will see the XJS take on an outlaw theme similar to that of Nico McBrain’s XJ6. Which, it should be said, was pretty cool. “I’ve been looking to do something very, very similar myself. I’ve owned Jaguars before, but the car I had never owned was an XJS… The XJS is a car that’s sort of misunderstood. I wanted to make my mark on it.” TWR has also spoken about making a statement around its ‘level of ambition’ with this build, so make of that what you will. It’s unlikely to blend into the background.
Saleem added of his first complete car (his previous work has been in bodykits): “I’m designing something pretty badass and helping to create a truly relevant TWR for the 21st century. The XJS has been seen as sort of unloved, a difficult second album to the E-Type. There’s an obvious history with it and TWR, and to have the chance to give it a new life is special. Just wait until you see what we’re doing with it. You’ll love it.” Again, probably not one for the purists, though likely to guarantee an impact - and the purists never liked the XJS anyway…
Beyond it being a V12 (a straight six just wouldn’t have seemed right), there hasn’t been much released about TWR’s reimagination for the moment. We do know that Walker is also having a say on how the car drives as well as looks - and he wants it “drivable in real world situations” - but not a great deal more. If it was good enough to make an all conquering touring car from, there’s gotta be something worthwhile in the XJS engineering. Further details are expected early in the new year - it seems unlikely that the TWR XJS will be easily missed.
Seems an odd approach when the TWR name was renowned for racers. I was hoping for a fast road, stripped back but modernised version of their race car.
Hopefully they don't trade away the family name/brand equity with anything too "pimp my ride"..
https://www.instagram.com/the_kyza/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/the_kyza/?hl=en
..................... or of a Pantera, or a Panther 6, or a Lamborghini Bravo ........... or a ................. etc
Saleem sounds like a bit if a wat, the above sounds like men trying to be teens at a Stanceworks meetup.
Muricans gonna luuv it. That XJ6 is very Guy Richie.....
About Khyzl. I like car design Esp post war coachbuilt stuff, but I like more recent stuff too. I design and make some stuff generally in composite and every now and again try to sort out my rendering skills to little effect.
I saw his stuff first a few years ago and he is clearly very influenced by and loves a few things - jap scene for one but also group 5 race cars.
The level of detail and the way he can exquisitely display existing cars and his modification intent in 3D modelling is pretty mind blowing. I saw a YouTube video or some such and he was absolutely not what you might expect, came across as a really nice humble guy who loved cars and worked bloody hard and suffered for his art. A real student of modified and competition car styling. Has a following now and is very nice and happy ho lucky about it. I think until recently he was doing this stuff in lunch breaks from his proper job which is also cool. I think his stuff, being 3D modelled, has been easily turned into actual body kits for some stuff like e30 3 series. The kits I’ve seen are a bit much for my taste and probs for most, but there has obvs been a market and his prolific rendering work shows he can have a light touch occasionally too, knowing when to take away as well as add on which, along with his creativity sets him apart from the max power.
That said whatever he does will never have more than an inch of ground clearance. 😂
I’m now waiting for someone with a waxed beard and an MIG welder to announce a resto-mod Triumph Stag, ‘concept’ with Rimmer Bros, bang out a press release, and for PH to cover it. Because content.
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