The Jaguar XJ220 isn’t considered one of the best models from Jaguar, but it could be one of the most underrated sports cars ever made.

Jaguar has been building sports cars for several decades, producing some of the most incredible sports cars to ever hit the market. This name brought us the legendary E-Type, which was beloved by Ferrari, and other names including, the XJR-15 and XK. Although most overlook the XJ220, we’re here to tell you that this impressive supercar should be on most lists when looking for the top sports cars from the UK.

This car has a racing pedigree

Most of us don’t think of Jaguar and consider it a strong racing name, but that’s not the case. In the 1950s, the D-Type and C-Type models were truly dominant at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After that high, the brand slowed down and didn’t see as much success on the track. The 1980s brought a change, and the brand began to build a special racing car from the ground up. The XJ220 was made to win the Le Mans Group B class, making it a high-performance car.

The Saturday Club created this Jaguar

It took a lot of convincing for Jim Randle, Jaguar’s Director of Engineering, to get the brand officials to put the Jag name on this car. In fact, he had to do the project on his own with a team of employees working nights and weekends after the regular production was done. Those twelve volunteers became known as “The Saturday Club,” and they created the new Jaguar XJ220. Without this team, this supercar wouldn’t have ever existed.

Beauty, thy name is XJ220

Other British names come to mind first when discussing some of the most beautiful sports cars, but Jaguar has proven its worth in this arena. The E-Type was considered the most beautiful car ever created, but it took three decades before Jaguar would do it again. The XJ220 brings supercar design qualities to the track with its low-slung front end and pop-up headlights. You won’t see interrupted lines and curves on this amazing car. The rear even has a small wing that provides a smooth transition instead of a massive flap.

Functional aerodynamics meets supercar performance

The Jaguar XJ220 spent a lot of time in the wind tunnel as engineers worked to make a car that’s as aerodynamically efficient as possible. Everything about this incredible car was made to cut through the wind. It was one of the first road-legal cars to generate downforce using underbody airflow and the Venturi effect. This car has a drag coefficient of 0.36, which is impressive. When you see the shape of this car, you can see how it cuts through the wind and pushes down on the ground.

The XJ220 makes excellent use of power

How do you utilize the most power in any car? You make it as light as possible. With the aerodynamics sorted, the Jaguar team went about the task of making the lightest possible car to boost performance. There were several weight-saving measures taken to build this incredible car. The Alcan bonded honeycomb aluminum chassis helps save weight, and the body is made entirely of aluminum, making it much lighter than other supercars using steel bodies.

The engine that never was

The Jaguar XJ220 first appeared at the 1988 British International Motor Show with a massive naturally aspirated V12 engine. This was the engine gearheads wanted in their XJ220, and many were prepared to pay top dollar for it. Unfortunately, emissions restrictions forced Jaguar to switch to a turbocharged V6 instead, which angered many customers. This change was a huge part of why this car was never as successful or as popular as it could have been. Of course, today, that might be a different story.

The engine was still excellent

Although Jaguar replaced the V12 with a turbo V6, that didn’t make this car a dog by any standard. The 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine produced 542 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque, making this supercar one of the most powerful in the 1990s. The top sped of 212.3 mph and 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds made it one of the fastest production cars during its time. This incredible car also set a new record at Nürburgring, lapping the lauded course in 7:46.36.

The Jaguar XJ220 was an overlooked and underrated supercar of the 1990s that could have been much more. It was made for racing and won some races during its time on the track. The engine change was its demise, but it was still a glorious British supercar.