For far too long, the Jaguar XJ220 simply wasn't revered (or valued) like so many supercar icons of the 1990s. Without the glamour of either a V12 (that it was meant to have) or a top speed record (that it had for a few weeks), the XJ220 was left languishing somewhat (all things being relative) as contemporaries like the Ferrari F50, McLaren F1 and Bugatti EB110 soared in value. As recently as 2014, there were really nice examples available for £160,000.
Slowly but surely, however, the world has woken up to the XJ220's significance. This was a Jaguar that looked absolutely extraordinary, was capable of 217mph and was never directly replaced. Add to that its extreme rarity (with just 275 ever made) and age (the first one having been made 30 years ago) and it's surprising that steeper appreciation didn't come sooner. Perhaps the XJ220's awkward gestation even managed to put people off years later.
Whatever the case, you'll now need the best part of half a million for a great XJ220, as this one appears to be. A far cry from those heady days of 2014, when a 155-mile car was on offer at £225,000. But then have you seen what an F50 or F1 will cost nowadays? If ever £400k didn't seem outrageous, it's when it buys a hypercar legend.
This example is one of just 69 XJ220s built in right-hand drive format; of those just another three were in this colour combination. It's UK registered, supplied new in October 1993 to Grange Jaguar in Exeter - what a sight that must have been - and has been looked after by Don Law Racing in recent years, including a full engine rebuild in 2018. Obviously, there's no such thing as a ropey XJ220, particularly not with values having strengthened in recent years, but this does look an especially lovely one - those extremely old-school dials show just 9,500 miles recorded.
It gets better, too, as this XJ220 is famous. Well, sort of - it was on Top Gear once, beating a Pagani Zonda in a drag race. Certainly not something that could be said of all the '220s out there. Having been in a private collection since 2014 (what a great time to buy that turned out to be), the big Jag is now for sale at £425,000. And it is a £20m Lotto jackpot on Saturday, don't forget.
In fact, it's a great time for any prospective XJ220 buyer, as there are five of them (!) for sale on PH, four in right-hand drive. The selling dealer of the dark grey one has this stunning Monza Red car also available with fewer than 4,000 miles and a major service (including the replacement of all 24 coolant hoses) completed last year by Don Law. So whether you want silver, grey, black, or red, there's currently a right-hand drive XJ220 out there for almost all tastes. Just don't expect values to almost triple again, unfortunately...
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