TWR Supercat is a reborn 450kW Jaguar XJS on steroids

TWR Performance has unleashed the TWR Supercat – a 450kW Jaguar XJS that comes with a new carbon-fibre body, supercharged V12 and manual transmission.

The first retromod to be rolled out by the British-based TWR Performance, the TWR Supercat’s development has been overseen by Fergus Walkinshaw – the son of TWR founder, Scottish racer, team boss and engineering leader, the late Tom Walkinshaw.

Designed by digital artist Khyzyl Saleem with the help of Porsche modifier Magnus Walker, the Supercat features a look inspired by the competition-spec XJS that raced in Europe and Bathurst in the late-1970s and early-to-mid-1980s.

Featuring a significantly wider body than standard, the Supercat gains disc-style alloy wheels and a new front bumper that sports a huge front splitter, with halo-style LED headlights positioned above.

At the rear there’s a ducktail spoiler and LED tail-lights that sit above a motorsport-inspired diffuser.

Every single panel is all-new, says TWR, crafted out of ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre.

Under the louvred bonnet is said to be a supercharged V12 of unknown capacity that produces more than 600bhp (447kW), a big step up over the 248kW the old 6.0-litre V12 produced in the XJR-S developed by TWR in the early 1990s.

Instead of an old three-speed automatic transmission, the Supercat comes with a new six-speed manual gearbox.

There are bucket seats inside, suggesting a stripped-out cabin, although TWR has declared it won’t compromise on luxury.

We’ll find out later this year when the Supercat’s interior is revealed.

Just 88 examples of the Supercat will be built, with the number of cars commemorating TWR’s first Le Mans win back in 1988.

Each car will be priced from £225,000 ($A430,000), with deliveries set to begin before the end of this year.

The Supercat is said to have been developed by engineers who have worked at McLaren, Ferrari, Porsche and the Williams, Mercedes-AMG and Renault F1 teams.

According to Fergus Walkinshaw, the car was designed to “preserve and protect the analogue driving experience in a world where modern performance cars are governed by electronic systems”.

Despite the family ties, TWR Performance has no link to the original Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) outfit, which competed in top-flight motorsport and also developed cars like the Renault Clio V6, Volvo C70 and Aston Martin DB7.

TWR Performance is also not linked with the Melbourne-based Walkinshaw Group run by Fergus’ brother Ryan Walkinshaw, which is responsible for factory-backed right-hand drive conversions of RAM and Chevrolet pick-up trucks, amid a broad range of design, engineering, manufacturing and motorsport activities.

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