TWR Supercat, the V12 supercar that should have been built by Jaguar

Since Jaguar, together with Land Rover, became part of the Tata Motors group, its prestige as a manufacturer has gradually declined until it has become a shadow of what this English firm once was, not only because of the questionable reliability and build quality of its more modern models, but also because it has ended up blowing up its own history.

The electrification of brands has also affected Jaguar, and the company’s decision to adapt has been to take a leap into the void, quite literally: it stopped building combustion-engined models on the pretext of having stock for a year, without yet having its first fully electric model in the catalogue, which will finally be a sports GT replacing a saloon they already had under development. To make matters worse, the brand has unveiled a rebranding that finishes off its history, accompanied by a commercial in which you can’t tell whether from now on they will be selling you perfumes, clothing or cars.

Jaguar stopped being, for many years, the historic and premium brand it once was. I doubt it will manage to come close to what it was in the past, and in memory we will be left with its most historic, representative and iconic models, while other recently created brands, such as TWR, arrive to remind motoring enthusiasts, as well as Jaguar itself, precisely what it once was.

TWR is a brand founded in 2020 by Fergus Walkinshaw, son of the late racing driver Tom Walkinshaw, who at the time founded a racing team with the same name. In this modern era it wants to carry the legacy of the original TWR, a leader in competition engineering, into the automotive world, and to that end it officially presents its first model, the TWR Supercat, a vehicle that takes as its reference and base one of the most iconic models of Jaguar, the XJS, in addition to incorporating design elements inspired by other models such as the XJR-9, the XJR-15 or the excellent XJ220.

The TWR Supercat is built on a tubular steel chassis with carbon-fibre body panels, all shaped under the design and supervision of Khyzyl Saleem, a renowned prototype designer who has helped create models for names as illustrious as the late Ken Block or Travis Pastrana. Its creation keeps the profile and silhouette of the XJS, to which it has given an imposing, muscular presence, without forgetting something as important as aerodynamics, which was supervised by an expert from Mercedes-Benz F1 and is noticeable in elements such as the redesigned rear buttresses that channel air along the sides, the flat floor with the rear diffuser, or the relocated exhaust system, moved from the rear to the side.

This whole design exercise gives the TWR Supercat an incredible look that reinterprets the XJS with modern technology and elevates it to the highest altars, along with a greater presence supported by a generous width of 1,975 mm. Not to mention other elements such as TWR Forged Monoblok wheels, 18 inches at the front axle and 19 inches at the rear, leaving the original 15-inch wheels fitted to the XJS at the time far behind. Behind these wheels are ventilated steel brake discs with six-piston calipers at the front and four-piston calipers at the rear, discs that can optionally be replaced with carbon-ceramic ones.

But be warned, because despite its impressive exterior styling, this is a car designed for road use too, which is why the interior has not been neglected, with a modern reinterpretation of the XJS interior to which a digital screen for the instrument cluster and another for the MMI infotainment system, compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, have been added. From that second screen, by the way, the steering parameters and the MultiLink suspension with active dynamics can be adjusted with total comfort. It’s worth noting that it is a two-seater, since the rear seats have been replaced by a storage area.

Mechanically, the TWR Supercat is powered by a beautiful 5,600 cc twin-turbo V12 engine producing 660 CV and a torque of 730 Nm, which is sent to the rear axle through, as it could not be otherwise, a six-speed manual gearbox with a limited-slip differential. Undoubtedly a delight in these days of electric motors and automatic gearboxes.

The TWR Supercat will be built in a limited run of 88 units, a number that pays homage to Tom Walkinshaw’s 1988 Le Mans victory with the XJR-9. A few units are still available at a starting price of £225,000, with the first deliveries expected in summer 2025.