Why You Won’t See The Jaguar XJ220S Supercar On US Roads

The XJ220 may have had brilliant engineering, but it was a business disaster for Jaguar. The design process dragged on for four years, beginning with a spectacular V12 concept car (via Jaguar Heritage). The concept was so strong that, as Hemmings notes, hundreds of prospective buyers laid down £50,000 each – approximately $85,500 in 1988 dollars — to reserve a model when it hit the market.

What followed, as related to PistonHeads by the director of engineering Jim Randle, was four years of sky-high promises compromised by reality. Jaguar swapped the V12 for a seen-it-before V6. The promised all-wheel-drive became rear-wheel. Styling was redesigned. Many buyers took exception to the sweeping changes from the 1988 prototype — in fact, some even took Jaguar to court (via AutoNews) to get their reservation fees back. In the end, Jaguar sold just 281 of the XJ220’s planned 350-car run.

Already absorbing a loss on the stock XJ220, Jaguar faced multiple obstacles to make the XJ220S road-legal in the United States. Dim headlights, carbon fiber bodywork, and a blistering top speed (via Miracle Ford) would all have raised questions with the NHTSA. Ultimately, Jaguar only built six units of the XJ220S model before cutting its losses. A new opportunity has since arisen for American Jaguar enthusiasts, however. Like many other short-run, highly desirable collector cars, the XJ220 and XJ220S qualify for the Show and Display exception to NHTSA regulations (via Show or Display). United States regulators have allowed the import of the Jaguar supercar since 2001 on the basis of engineering innovation and historical significance.