TWR XJR-S - The Incredible Jaguar V12 That Took On BMW's M Cars!

The XJS was never designed as a race car, heavy and refined it was aimed at bankers and barristers.. but under Tom Walkinshaw at TWR it managed to win the European Touring Car Championship and was the inspiration for the XJR-S.

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[jeffphillips]

I was the body shop foreman at Julians of Reading which the the biggest jaguar dealership in the UK. I used to spray and fit the TWR body kits . I was also responsible for painting the promotional XJS cars in the Benson and Hedges Silk Cut colours for the Jaguar stand at Le Manns. I was also responsible for the idea of turning the Julians of Reading jaguar dealership's body shop into the first Jaguar approved body shop, as jaguar was acquired by Ford and independent of Britain Leyland. 🇬🇧

[thatcheapguy]

well Jack, back in 1985 I was in the engine shop at TWR after finishing a Stag apprenticeship. on one occasion I took Tom Walkinshaws own XJS across Oxfordshire to pick up some urgently needed timing parts. I'd driven a few XJSs in my previous occupation but Toms was truly sublime. it was very VERY quick and placement through the corners was beautiful.
I was part of the Group C team building the 6.4 litre and there was a guy called Mike who used to build all the 6.0 litre road and race engines. Mike was quite a master of his art. I remember one day we blew a Group C lump on the dyno which bent one of the camshafts. he tapped it straight for us whilst we frantically rebuilt the engine.
the big take away from working there was "its not how good you are, its how good you cheat." there were plenty of naughty things hidden in those engines.

[rogerpritchard]

I'm probably one of the few that have owned a V12 XJ-S for 30 years now. Absolutely love it. I dont drive it like a racing car on the roads, never will. Graceful, quiet, smooth and effortless to drive. Suits me perfectly. Proper servicing is the one requirement with these. Not a fan of the body kit, sorry. Great video Jack as always.

[Bluecedor]

That was a hefty upgrade price back then. Looks worth it, though. The car has that great transitional late 80s-early 90s look to it, and it was such an interesting profile compared to any other car. With respect to the car phone, they do add flair to 80s and 90s cars. I had an early 90s Nissan with one installed by the original owner and it was always a conversation starter.

[thedrivebygg]

Love the look of these, and remember seeing the 7.0 Lister a couple of times on the road.

[andybroer]

I've owned 2 XJSs. A 1983 HE which was deceptively fast although did have high repair bills due to my inexperience with Jaguars at the time I bought it, then a 1994 XJS 6.0 convertible which as ruby red over parchment leather and a dreamy car. So smooth with their ride and power delivery, one night late after work I had my wife drive me back to my office to pick up my Ferrari 308GT4, she was in our HE. Once I got in the Ferrari I had a devil of a time keeping up with her in the XJS, redline shifts and maximum throttle just to keep up! When we got home, I asked her why she was in such a hurry and she replied, 'What? I was just driving normally' LOL... sneaky fast those XJS V12s! Thanks to the TWR V12 review Jack.

[mattorama]

I like how you could pick all the options individually. So if you wanted a stock looking car that was a racer underneath, you could have it that way, or if you just wanted the race car looks with a stock, comfortable car underneath, you could have that too. That's cool.

[christopherrose]

This took me back. As a kid my next door neighbour was a petrol head (and hairdresser) who owned an Aston DBS and then an XJS. Used to ride in the back while he hit an optimistic 140mph on the short run from my school back to home. Anyway I always loved the look so bought a late 1990's 6 litre convertible XJS here in New York. I fitted the special breathing kit and chip conversion from AJ6(?) to boost output to around 330hp (Harry Metcalf's XJC had the same runed manifold etc before he had it rebuilt). I think those engines borrowed a lot from the TWR era. TBH the car was a hot rod barge but still very refined. Problem is even during the Ford era these were very unreliable and I got tired of the ration of shop time to drive time. So I sold it and ordered a brand new E46 M3 CiC which was way quicker, handled better, had more space and revved and revved and revved. That lasted me 21 years with barely an issue. But I still miss the unique look of the XJS, especially the coupe with the flying buttresses. Timeless.

[wearetomorrowspast.]

What a machine. Still looks good today.
Very cool vid.

[neilgent]

I am showing my age now, but I loved watching the Saint with the white XJS in it.

[TheSoupdragon]

I had a series 3 TWR, it was one of eleven built to the spec of the race car, it had the wheels but no body kit, 6 ltr engine apparently 340 BHP. Uprated brakes, steering rack, suspension, 5 speed ZF gearbox, and a free flowing exhaust.... Yes the changes made the world of difference!!!! Let's face it a standard V12 can really pull if you lock it in second gear... I remember being late one day and joining a motorway... In second gear and I kept my foot down, not to the floor but a long way down.... My god it lit up and flew!!! The noise will live with me forever!!! I have been very lucky to own my favourite cars this was one of them. I wish I had a garage I could of kept it in.... 😢

[jonwilliam]

Great car, I had a1988 TWR conversion on my car which included, steering, suspension mods. and body kit. No engine mods. It transformed the car into a real BMW and Porsche beater but retained the quiet refinement of the engine which had more than enough power as standard. Most noticeable was the steering which put great feel into it. It looked great too.

[fredericksaxton]

Around 1996 I had a XJS-Cabriolet, and took my lady to Oxford to go to Birmingham with a friend and his lady in his 6 litre XJR-S.
On the return drive back down the M40 at 02:00 down a deserted motorway he managed to do an Average of 100 mph from Brum to Oxford, having to do 125 in the last 10 miles.
Highly illegal and irresponsible I know. However, the car was rock steady, we passed zero traffic at that time of night. A memorable night.

[walterplant]

Lovely car and a great video . As a newly qualified driver in 1978 my dad agreed to let me drive his XJ 5.3 C on the motorway for motorway driving experience. Same basic engine.

A golf GTI cut us up on the way to the motorway . Don’t react said my dad . Once on the motorway he said “ now catch the “ . I am not going to say what I did next or the indicated speed that I hit . But I will say that the Jaguar V12 was an extremely rapid car . It easily and rapidly overhauled the VW .

The on.y cars which I have experienced that have exceeded my dad’s XJ are our Bentley’s both of which have featured on Jacks channel . Technically a V12 will always be superior to a V8 even with a turbo or two . But only the Bentley’s have exceeded the experience of my father’s XJ 5.3 C .

An absolutely stunning British car and a total credit to its owner

[davidbarnsley]

I will say seeing these big green beasts race in Australia back in the day was truly a highlight for us and the group c era
They were absolutely amazing 😍😍🇦🇺

[spencerbarratt]

Nice video Jack, liked the commentary, very nice

[Cam-pend]

Over the past year or two I became obsessed with these pre-facelift bodykit models; TWR and Lister. Finally nabbed myself one with the Lister kit over the weekend and it's just a joy. One of the most unique and still decently obtainable cars on the road currently.

[JonDingle]

Brings back memories for me, I had a red, 1975 Jaguar XJS 5.3L V12. It was immense! As a 6'2" bloke it was a little tight but not uncomfortably so and the seats, mega comfortable. I had a gun metal grey HE V12 XJS of 1988 vintage, again a fantastic car. I bought them both secondhand and wish I had kept them.

[stephenricketts]

I am not overly keen on the XJS but this is something quite different. TWR did well with it as you say and probably encouraged Jaguar itself to get more involved. Remember back in the day any manufacturer worth its salt would go racing and or rallying to promote their brand which was a very successful business model for selling standard cars. Whilst some still do it is not such a big deal as it was in lets say the 60's. A great review Jack thank you. 👍👍

[carlharvey]

Ive had two "normal" XJ-S's and they were amazing and i always wanted a TWR as it was the pinnacle at the time, the V12 was smooth. Amazing video matey and a beautiful car