The street legal race car with incredibly rich history.
The car was born a full street car at Jaguar and wears a full 17-digit VIN. It was then immediately sent to TWR where it was prepared for Group-N – which was intended to be as close to a street car as possible.
Driving the XJ220-N is everything car guys dream of on the street. The feel, gusto, and sound of a race car but with its hidden roll cage, comfortable seats, and the comforts of a modified street car.
Check out what SuperCars.Net said about the vehicle in their feature article.
History of the XJ220-N
Having served as the back-up for the #11 and #12 XJ220-N cars, this car has a very interesting history. While records aren’t perfect, #13 car’s life suggest it remained a back up making for a very well preserved vehicle.
While cars #001 (#11) and #002 (#12) both remain in Europe and are much more geared towards racing, this final N car left its support role and became the living room feature of a French art collector for nearly its entire life thereafter.
The driver that raced the #002 car in the Italian GT Supercar Championship back in 1993 also chimed in the auction comments:
The Restoration
The prior owner of 003 virtually rebuilt the entire car to make it ready to enjoy for a very long time. Short of rebuilding the motor (which still shows the cross hatch marks in the bores and is virtually new), every single aspect of the car was addressed from fueling to ignition to fuel cells to interior safety and on and on. The owner shared the following details with the auction:
“I currently own this car, and it has just completed a massive mechanical refurbishment. Whoever owned this car after it was sold by the Top Run racing team (who raced 3 of these N cars in the 1993 Italian GT), never drove it, and never maintained it. It took over 3 years and Porsche 911 turbo money to carry out the restoration to better than original condition. Of course I have all the invoices. The other 2 N cars have not disappeared. One is the Martini-liveried car owned by Don Law Racing in the UK, and the other has been in a long term private collection in Germany. The N cars were significantly lighter than the street cars, with much higher power capacities. Currently running at approx. 620bhp, the car is capable of 700 on 104 octane gas, and according to don Law, their car can make 800 bhp on race gas. The brakes are massive BBS instead of AP Racing, the fueling system is different to a street car, and the Zytek ecu is running the team’s race map as opposed to a street map. The idle circuit had been deleted by TWR along with a/c, radio, and a glass roof (this car has a lightweight composite roof). There are too many details to list here, but I have written a fairly thorough summary of the car which is posted on Jag-lovers forum and Facebook in the XJ220 enthusiast group.
The true mileage is unknown, as the team had disconnected the instrument cluster and run an electronic Stack unit. However, pictures of the bores taken when we first dropped the engine clearly show the cylinder honing patterns on the walls, so the engine has not even been broken in yet. I had it out for a shakedown day at Lime Rock Park last October.
This car also won the Supercar class at the Labor Day weekend concourse last summer.”
The Live Wrap
The original silver paint is protected by the white and blue wrap inspired by the livery worn by the XJ220-N chassis that raced during the 1993 Italian GT season. The wrap was applied live during the 2024 International Auto show by Phenomenal Vinyl.
The user @rarecarsonly on Bring a Trailer chimed into the auction to share that they were the individual responsible for coordinating the live wrap of this vehicle. They further added to the conversation, “Anyone that gets this car is going to be pleased with just how unique the N is, being it is still an aluminum bodied car, yet, having a stripped out interior, bigger turbos, and other upgrades, it’s simply a joy.”
The Perfect Car to Introduce the ‘Monolith’
What better way to introduce our new premium car stage than with this incredibly rare and beautiful XJ220-N? Dubbed “the Monolith,” this custom built museum podium is for cars that fit the mold of a particular premium nature to further highlight their merits. We’re extremely excited about this new presentation and are always looking for ways to take our photo style and presentation to the next level.
The XJ220-N sold on Bring a Trailer on January 21st, 2025 for $691,234.
