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?

THE TEASE

Memory recalls a saucy Jaguar advert in Road & Track that showcased Coventry’s silken mid-engined form. Like some self aware supermodel, she dazzled, winked, and all but promised exotic V12 performance but, sorry guys, she’s taken. No XJ220s for U.S.

And it was a shame too because even though the XJ220 fell short of the initial 220 mph claim (early cats hindered performance to 213 mph) and the promise of V12 power backfired in the form of a more effective V6 substitute (there were lawsuits), had the car sold Stateside, Coventry shoulda-woulda-coulda doubled the limited production of 281 units during the XJ220′s two year run (1992-1994).

Ah, well. We’ll always have R&T. And Scotland.

It wasn’t until I was at university that I witnessed first hand the spectacle of a -purple- XJ220 cruise up Aberdeen’s Union Street. In December.

That spectacle ranks up there with the time I watched a clown (in full Bozo makeup ‘n costume) peddle a recumbent bicycle down Park Avenue. In August.

Needless to say, it’s British auctioneer Coys’ fault for bringing back these good thoughts from days passed.

INCENTIVE

But isn’t that part of the appeal in ponying up for the heartache that a British racing green XJ220 is almost sure to cause? What else would prompt you to buy, as Jeremy Clarkson put it, an old sports car with all the sophistication of a “telegraph poll?”

Well, if the BBC in all their proprietary wisdom hadn’t torn down the YouTube posting, I’d show you the Top Gear review that demonstrated how an old Jag absolutely destroyed the AMG V12 powered Pagani Zonda S.

In a contest of straight-line acceleration, the XJ220 blew past the Zonda as if it stood still.

Plus, there’s the advantages of buying used to consider.

Paying for a XJ220 now takes one third of the sting out of the original $650,000 price. Why that’s a steal and a technical sale! Buy now and you can get two, maybe three XJ220s for the price of one!

That plus knowing that you wouldn’t have to sneak it past customs gives you all the more incentive. Or doesn’t.

Some purchase decisions require the happy, inherently youthful absence of common sense. Delicious. Did I mention it’s all-wheel drive?

In any event, there’s one XJ220 parked on Coys’ showroom floor just outside of London. If London’s not near enough, consider the XJ220 up for sale in Stratford, Connecticut.

[Linked: Coys | Hemmings]