TWR working on wild Jaguar XJS retromod
British engineering and motorsport company to reimagine XJS for the modern ageTWR’s plan to transition from an automotive engineering firm and race car builder to a bespoke car-maker has taken another step forward with news it is working on a new retromod based on the Jaguar XJS coupe.
The British company has announced it has recruited Porsche car collector and former fashion designer Magnus Walker and self-taught car designer Khyzyl Saleem to help reimagine the XJS by bringing its design “into the 21st Century”.
Full details of what TWR has in store for the famous Jaguar two-door coupe won’t be released until in early 2024, but Walker has provided some clues.
“I remember talking to Ian Callum about how I wanted to do an outlaw version of an XJS, kind of similar to what Jaguar Classic did with Nicko McBrain’s XJC,” he said.
The XJC that Walker references is the 1984 XJ6 Series 3 that Jaguar itself retro-modded for the Iron Maiden drummer before it was displayed at the 2018 Geneva motor show.
That car featured larger wheels, wider wheel-arches and modern touches like brighter LED headlights.
It’s thought the new TWR XJS will receive a similar design treatment and a significantly upgraded version of the standard car’s 5.3-litre V12.
Despite potentially offering more than double the power output of the original 220kW V12, Walker says the reimagined XJS won’t be a stripped-out racer.
“Our XJS has to be drivable in real-world situations, from idle to throttle transition, when it’s stuck on the freeway in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I’m about drivability, usability and practicality,” he said.
Founded back in 1975, Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) is most famous Down Under for its association with the Holden Racing Team, which was established in 1988 and went on to become a dominant force in V8 Supercars racing, both before and after Holden swapped Walkinshaw for Triple Eight Race Engineering to run HRT in 2017.
Back in Europe, as well being heavily involved in motorsport series like the British Touring Car Championship, TWR was an engineering consultant for a broad range of car-makers, helping the likes of Aston Martin develop the DB7 and Renault produce the Phase 1 Clio V6.
The choice of a Jaguar for its first retromod makes sense as TWR also developed both the V12-powered XJR that was victorious at Le Mans in 1988 and 1990, and also the Jaguar XJS racer that won the European Touring Car Championship outright in 1984.
Later on, the team also helped to create the Jaguar XJ220 that went on to set the template for the modern hypercar, alongisde the McLaren F1.
Despite splitting with its racing arm, TWR said its first road car will tap into “much of the DNA and spirit that helped the original TWR brand to become a world leader in performance and motorsport engineering”.
TWR is run by Fergus Walkinshaw – the younger son of TWR founder, Scottish racer, team boss and engineering leader, the late Tom Walkinshaw.
It’s not yet clear how many TWR XJS retromods the reborn car-maker plans to produce, nor whether or not they will be exported to Australia, but given the family connections it’s highly likely.
Commenting following the announcement, Fergus Walkinshaw said: “High-performance engineering runs in the blood of the Walkinshaw family, and ever since the original TWR closed its doors I have longed to find a way to continue the family legacy.”
Related: TWR resurrected, plotting all-new supercar
Related: Holden drops Walkinshaw: HRT goes to Triple8
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