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This is it: the 650bhp+, V12-engined TWR Supercat

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This is it: the 650bhp+, V12-engined TWR Supercat | Top Gear

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Jaguar's XJ-S gets the full resto treatment, emerges as a fire-breathing two-door coupe

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This is it: the 650bhp+, V12-engined TWR Supercat

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Jaguar's XJ-S gets the full resto treatment, emerges as a fire-breathing two-door coupe

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This is it: the 650bhp+, V12-engined TWR Supercat

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Jaguar's XJ-S gets the full resto treatment, emerges as a fire-breathing two-door coupe

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This is it: the 650bhp+, V12-engined TWR Supercat

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This is it: the 650bhp+, V12-engined TWR Supercat

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Jaguar's XJ-S gets the full resto treatment, emerges as a fire-breathing two-door coupe

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FIRST LOOK: TWR Supercat – Wild 650bhp V12-Engined Jaguar XJS

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FIRST LOOK: TWR Supercat – Wild 650bhp V12-Engined Jaguar XJS

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Yes, that does the trick doesn’t it? What you’re looking at here is the finished – and now showroom ready – TWR Supercat. Not short of attitude, is it? First seen as a render back in April, the £270K restomod is now real – and we’ve driven the prototype.

More on that in a bit. First, a deep dive into the technical. The body is the work of designer Khyzyl Saleem. “I’m very inspired by the 70s and 80s era – IMSA, Trans-Am, Group A touring cars – but also original Jaguar design – the XJR-9, XJR-15, and most importantly the XJ220,” he said. And boy you can tell. Full box arches, bonnet vents, a front splitter as sharp as a mandolin, a corking pair of aero flaps at the back and side exit pipes. It’s not pretty, but nothing in the 80s was.

“The original XJ-S was known for its flying buttresses,” he adds, “but it wasn’t a flying buttress, it didn’t function that way. So we’ve made it function.” Working with a Mercedes F1 aerodynamicist, air is channelled through the buttress and across the back deck. There’s also a roof lip spoiler that drafts airflow over the top downwards to meet those rear flaps.

But the Supercat is not really about aero. It’s about unleashing the potential of a supercharged V12. It uses an original 5.3-litre V12, but heavily modified. It’s bored out to 5.6 litres, dry sumped, equipped with a new cylinder head, valve train, billet cams…

“Then of course the supercharger and the charge cooling system get added, and that gives us a power figure of over 650bhp, a redline of 7,750rpm and over 700Nm [516lb ft] of torque,” says Fergus Walkinshaw, co-founder and lead engineer, and son of Tom who first founded TWR back in 1976.

There’s no performance figures yet, but given the Supercat only weighs around 1,500kg, it should have a power to weight ratio of around 430bhp/tonne. About the same as the latest Aston Martin Vantage. So it’ll be downright fast.

And if the prototype is anything to go by, it’ll match the Vantage’s disdain for rear tyres. I drove the prototype Supercat earlier this summer in a very raw state (see below). The bodyshell and subframes have been strengthened to cope with the power, so the chassis didn’t flex too much, but the suspension was soft and plush, so the car squatted heavily under power and there was a disconnect between the slightly lazy suspension and the more mechanical feel of the steering and six-speed manual gearbox.

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Traction was an issue despite the LSD, the rear end breaking away easily on very little throttle. It didn’t really much like going in a straight line. So absolutely period correct in that regard. Low end torque wasn’t particularly mighty, but the V12 came alive above 4,000rpm. The noise? Imagine sticking your head in a hornet’s nest and smacking the outside with a stick. It will be more refined come production.

First deliveries are expected to be next summer. Just 88 are being built (a reference to the TWR Jaguar Le Mans win in 1988), each costing £225,000 plus local taxes – so £270,000 in the UK. The donor car comes on top of that. Ceramic brakes and a nose lift system are optional, adaptive suspension comes as standard. Inside, Apple Carplay/Android Auto is included in a cabin that has ditched the rear seats in favour of a bigger boot, and includes plenty of tactile switchgear, plus a digital dash that exactly apes the layout of an original XJ-S's.

Beyond the Supercat, expect more from TWR. And not necessarily Jaguar shaped. “TWR had many different affiliations over the years,” said co-founder John Kane, “so there’s some others in the pipeline, already thought about, already in design.”

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Yes, that does the trick doesn’t it? What you’re looking at here is the finished – and now showroom ready – TWR Supercat. Not short of attitude, is it? First seen as a render back in April, the £270K restomod is now real – and we’ve driven the prototype.

More on that in a bit. First, a deep dive into the technical. The body is the work of designer Khyzyl Saleem. “I’m very inspired by the 70s and 80s era – IMSA, Trans-Am, Group A touring cars – but also original Jaguar design – the XJR-9, XJR-15, and most importantly the XJ220,” he said. And boy you can tell. Full box arches, bonnet vents, a front splitter as sharp as a mandolin, a corking pair of aero flaps at the back and side exit pipes. It’s not pretty, but nothing in the 80s was.

“The original XJ-S was known for its flying buttresses,” he adds, “but it wasn’t a flying buttress, it didn’t function that way. So we’ve made it function.” Working with a Mercedes F1 aerodynamicist, air is channelled through the buttress and across the back deck. There’s also a roof lip spoiler that drafts airflow over the top downwards to meet those rear flaps.

But the Supercat is not really about aero. It’s about unleashing the potential of a supercharged V12. It uses an original 5.3-litre V12, but heavily modified. It’s bored out to 5.6 litres, dry sumped, equipped with a new cylinder head, valve train, billet cams…

“Then of course the supercharger and the charge cooling system get added, and that gives us a power figure of over 650bhp, a redline of 7,750rpm and over 700Nm [516lb ft] of torque,” says Fergus Walkinshaw, co-founder and lead engineer, and son of Tom who first founded TWR back in 1976.

There’s no performance figures yet, but given the Supercat only weighs around 1,500kg, it should have a power to weight ratio of around 430bhp/tonne. About the same as the latest Aston Martin Vantage. So it’ll be downright fast.

And if the prototype is anything to go by, it’ll match the Vantage’s disdain for rear tyres. I drove the prototype Supercat earlier this summer in a very raw state (see below). The bodyshell and subframes have been strengthened to cope with the power, so the chassis didn’t flex too much, but the suspension was soft and plush, so the car squatted heavily under power and there was a disconnect between the slightly lazy suspension and the more mechanical feel of the steering and six-speed manual gearbox.

Traction was an issue despite the LSD, the rear end breaking away easily on very little throttle. It didn’t really much like going in a straight line. So absolutely period correct in that regard. Low end torque wasn’t particularly mighty, but the V12 came alive above 4,000rpm. The noise? Imagine sticking your head in a hornet’s nest and smacking the outside with a stick. It will be more refined come production.

First deliveries are expected to be next summer. Just 88 are being built (a reference to the TWR Jaguar Le Mans win in 1988), each costing £225,000 plus local taxes – so £270,000 in the UK. The donor car comes on top of that. Ceramic brakes and a nose lift system are optional, adaptive suspension comes as standard. Inside, Apple Carplay/Android Auto is included in a cabin that has ditched the rear seats in favour of a bigger boot, and includes plenty of tactile switchgear, plus a digital dash that exactly apes the layout of an original XJ-S's.

Beyond the Supercat, expect more from TWR. And not necessarily Jaguar shaped. “TWR had many different affiliations over the years,” said co-founder John Kane, “so there’s some others in the pipeline, already thought about, already in design.”

19 minutes 23 seconds

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Jaguar's XJ-S gets the full resto treatment, emerges as a fire-breathing two-door coupe