Tuesday 6th April 2010

Limping Cat: Dying XJ220 Spotted

Dusty supercar with little more than 500 miles on the clock snapped lying unloved in Middle East

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XJ220 number 132 now...

If ever the phrase 'some viewers may find the following scenes disturbing' could apply in motoring journalism, it is now.

This forlorn-looking Jaguar XJ220 has been spotted looking rather wretched but with just 900km on the clock in Qatar by UAE-based motoring blog crankandpiston.com.

There are a lot of blanks in this story, but it seems that the car was originally sold by a Jaguar dealer in Dubai and was last spotted six years ago in Beirut looking shiny, handsome and well kept, before somehow ending up as this dusty, ignored travesty in Qatar.

...and the same car in happier days

How do we know all this? Apparently Mick Bramley, the photographer who snapped it works on 220s, and keeps a photographic record of the cars that pass through his hands, so imagine his surprise when this dusty wreck turned out to be none other than the very same XJ220 (number 132) he'd seen all those years ago in Beirut.

It's enough to make a grown man cry...

 

[RB Will]

If it still runs I will pay £5k and drive it home myself.

[Adrian W]

Must be a realy slow news day if a dirty car is the story.

[chunkymonkey71]

I feel sick.

[Shmee150]

How on earth did that happen.

[Morningside]

Bizarre.
It also shows the social difference between countries. If this left by the M25 I would give it less than 6 hours.

[traffman]

I hope someone saves this . Utter terrible shame .

[ccr32]

RB Will said:

If it still runs I will pay £5k and drive it home myself.

I'll go halves with you and share the driving duties

[vrdhir]

I have just booked my ticket out to Quatar armed with 100 Dingbats

[louismchuge]

It looks like a building nearby has colapsed or something? It could have been clean and loved a day or so earlier!

[ZesPak]

RB Will said:

If it still runs I will pay £5k and drive it home myself.

6k and I'll even wash it.

[Justayellowbadge]

I had no idea 'dirty' and 'dying' were synonymous.

Sorry guys, but what a stupid story.

[tinman0]

louismchuge said:

It looks like a building nearby has colapsed or something?

That's what a lot of the Middle East and Africa looks like.

[SmartVenom]

How long before this ends up in one of the auction houses with a write up stating it to be a "very low mileage, carefully stored example, of this highly sought after marque".

[Roberty]

Shame

[soad]

Don't think it has aged very well compared to some other motors of that age/era.

[BUG4LIFE]

That is a sad sad group of pics - in the same way I get sad when those dicks on Top Gear wreak a car, no matter what it is [breaking caravan's is fine though]!

[markreilly]

Bugger,knew i'd left it somewhere,what a weekend !

[Fire99]

It might just be very dusty out there.

If it has been 'left for dead' someone with a few spare quid pop out there and save it. I'd happily sacrifice a few Pious's in exchange.

[k-ink]

It probably stopped working and he abandoned it. They are so spoiled they just order new cars by the dozen.

[Mattt]

A car can look like that in less than a day in the Middle East - but the best bit is that when you drive, it just all blows off.