Jaguar XJ13
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jaguar XJ13 | |
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| Manufacturer | Jaguar Cars |
| Production | 1966 1 produced |
| Predecessor | Jaguar D-Type |
| Successor | Jaguar "Group 44" V12 E-Type |
| Class | Race car |
| Body style(s) | Roadster |
| Engine(s) | 5.0 L DOHC V12 |
The Jaguar XJ13 was a prototype racing car developed by Jaguar to challenge at Le Mans in the mid-1960s.
It never raced, and only one was ever produced, now valued at at least £7million. [1]
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[edit] Development
Jaguar had considered the manufacture of a V12 engine as far back as 1955, initially for racing purposes, and then developing a road-going version, unlike the XK which was designed as a production engine and later pressed into service for racing. The engine design was essentially two XK 6-cylinder engines on a common crankshaft with an aluminium cylinder block, although there were differences in the inlet porting, valve angles and combustion chamber shape. The first engine ran in 1964.
The idea of a mid-engined prototype was first mooted in 1960, but it was not until 1965 that construction began, with the first car running by March 1966. The aluminium body was designed by Malcolm Sayer, the aerodynamicist responsible for the Jaguar C-type, D-type, E-type and XJS, who used his Bristol Aeroplane Company background to build it using techniques borrowed from the aircraft industry.
The XJ13 had mid-engine format with the 5.0 litre V12 engine mounted behind the driver, used as a stressed chassis member together with the five-speed manual ZF Transaxle driving the rear wheels.
The front suspension wishbones were similar to that of the E-Type, however where the E-Type used longitudinal torsion bars, the XJ13 had more conventional coil spring/damper units. At the rear there again remained similarities with the E-Type - the use of driveshafts as upper transverse links - however the rest was quite different, with two long radius arms per side angling back from the central body tub together with lower links.
The development of the XJ13, although treated seriously by the designers, was never a priority for company management (despite assistant MD Lofty England's Le Mans success in the 1950s), and became less so following the 1966 merger with BMC. By that time Ford had developed the 7.0 litre GT40, and so the XJ13 was considered obsolete by the time the prototype was complete. The prototype was tested at MIRA and at Silverstone, which confirmed that it would have required considerable development to make it competitive. The prototype was put into storage and no further examples were made.
[edit] Launch of Series 3 E-Type
In 1971 the Series 3 E-type was about to be launched with Jaguar's first production V12 engine. The XJ13 was taken out of storage to be filmed at MIRA for the E-type publicity video. Unfortunately, the magnesium wheels had suffered from internal corrosion and one disintegrated at speed, the car rolled heavily and was nearly destroyed. Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis was fortunately unharmed. The wreck of the car was put back into storage.
Some years later, the car was rebuilt, to a specification similar to the original, using the body jigs made for its original construction. The cars is now displayed in the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection.
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] References
[edit] External links
- XJ13 page at the Surrey Jaguar Enthusiasts Club
- XJ13 page at the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust
- The finest Jaguar that never was Andrew Frankel of the Sunday Times tests the Jaguar XJ13
[edit] See also
WWW.XJ13JAGUAR.COM
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| Type | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Sports | XK120 | XK140 | XK150 | E-type S1 | E S2 | E-type S3 | XJ-S | XJ-S HE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saloon | Mark 1 | Mark 2, 240, 340 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S-Type | XJ-C | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 420 | XJ6 S1 | XJ6 S2 | XJ6 S3 | XJ6 (XJ40) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mk IV | Mk V | Mk VII | Mk VIII | Mk IX | Mk X | 420G | XJ12 S1 | XJ12 S2 | XJ12 S3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supercar | Jaguar XKSS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Racing | C-Type | D-Type | E-Type | XJ13 | XJ-C | XJ41 XJ42 |
XJRs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Corporate ownership | Independent | BMH | British Leyland | Independent | Ford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
