8) Built from 1992 to 1994, the Jaguar XJ220 held the record for fastest production car in the world (350 km/h or 217 mph), a title it kept until the arrival of the McLaren F1 in 1994. The XJ220 had been developed in collaboration with Tom Walkinshaw Racing by a group of Jaguar employees nicknamed “The Saturday Club” because they’d meet to work on their “hobby” projects.
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| Photo: Jaguar |
9) When he was a teenager, Jaguar’s current Design Director, Ian Callum, wrote to Bill Heynes, then Chief Engineer, sending him sketches of imaginary Jaguars. In response, Heynes suggested the young illustrator study engineering draughtsmanship and industrial design. Callum obviously got the message. In 1979 he started working as a designer for Ford, then moved on to TWR Design – before becoming head of Jaguar’s design department in 1999.
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| Photo: Jaguar |
10) The fastest Jaguar of all time was an XFR prototype powered by a special V8 engine generating 510 hp, which allowed it to reach speeds of 363.179 km/h (225.675 mph) on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in November 2009. Marque afficionados quickly dubbed it “The Fast Pussycat.”
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| Photo: Jaguar |
