All Entries Tagged With: "xj220 supercar"

This Week @ Coys: Exotic Dreams Revisited

Fuel for a young imagination.

By Gunnar Heinrich | IMG via RapidCars.com

WHEN the eighties turned into the nineties, there were three 200+ mph supercars that diverted my attention from grammar school studies and fueled my passion for cars.

They rank as follows: Bugatti’s EB110, the McLaren F1, and the Jaguar XJ220.

Of the three, the Bugatti was my favorite for being a) Italian - molto bene! b) blending luxury with exotic performance and c) all-wheel drive.

IMHO back then, the true blue EB110 would’ve been the perfect choice for replacing the family Volvo in taking yours to and from school.

Indeed, yours was taking practical considerations into account.

The all-wheel drive would ensure that I’d make it to class on snow days; a selfless act of sacrificing liberation from school.

The EB110′s four turbochargers, performance shoes, and decisive lack of ground clearance didn’t factor in my assessment.

Time rolled on, our Volvo 740 (not-so-good in the snow) was replaced by a 940 (truly dismal polar performer) and then an 850 (damn near unstoppable), and history forgot the first and last of the super three to remember only the McLaren – a stripped down bullet that like the XJ220 wasn’t sold Stateside.

Back then, American emissions standards barred entry. And since then, we’ve all grown more practical and pragmatic. Or have we?