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Chances are most people, unless they are Jaguar die hards, have never heard of the XJ13. It's a rare beast.
It's rarity is only matched by its beauty ... which is simply extraordinary when you consider the car was designed and built in the mid 1960s. What is not extraordinary is the design came from the imagination of Malcolm Sayer, the man responsible for the design of both previous production racing Jaguars, the C and D Type. Yet, the XJ13 was a radical departure from both these magnificent race cars. Not only was it different to those epic cars, it was also a quantum leap from the E-Type Jaguar, also a Sayer design, that was mid-way through its three-series life when he penned the XJ13.
Unlike Sayers previous designs, the XJ13 was mid-engined. It was also a super-car, in the absolute sense of the description. That it never raced does not affect its standing as perhaps one of the world's most stunning cars. The XJ13 was designed to return Jaguar to its glory days of racing: a time when the XK 140 and 150S dominated Le Mans.
Yet, it was never meant to be. Jaguar's 1950s success at Le Mans ended when the regulations were changed and the D-Type was made obsolete overnight when engine displacement was limited to 3.0 litres. Modified E-Types were tried, but by then the Ferrari held sway. The E-Type was a sports car, not a race car. So Jaguar's racing program was put on hold. Or so people were told.
Inside Jaguar's home at Coventry, a racing program continued on a new engine and chassis. That engine was a V12. And the body was the XJ13. During the early 1960's there was a relaxation of regulations on engine size for Le Mans, leaving the door open for Coventry to develop a V12 engine, a desire it had coveted for many years. Engineer Claude Bailey was given the task of developing the power plant. In all seven prototype engines were built, two of which were prepared as race engines.
These engines were directly linked to Le Mans. They used two banks of six cylinders, similar to the Le Mans winning XK six cylinder engines, mounted at a 60 degree angle. The racing variants had twin overhead camshafts. A fuel injected variant provided more horsepower than those using carburation. More than 500 horses came from the aluminium-block engine that had a capacity of almost five litres.
Sayer's design called for lightweight monocoque body over a chassis of formed aluminium. The engine would form an integral part of the chassis and along with the transmission carried the rear suspension. The body was also formed of aluminium and by late 1966 the body was completed. In all the experimental car weighed in at under 1000 kg. In-house it was called Experimental Jaguar Number 13, which led to it's ultimate production name.
By early 1967 the car was ready for its first outing: a test at the MIRA track with David Hobbs given the job of test pilot. XJ13 destroyed the track record. Yet, no one as yet knew of the car. It's development and subsequent testing were done in total secrecy.
Imagine the expectation at Coventry. At last a car carrying the Jaguar badge was capable of taking it up to the Italians and their Ferraris. As as result of what had been learned on the track the XJ13 was further refined and altered to suit the Le Mans circuit. By late 1967 XJ13 was ready to race. The celebration was short lived.
Deja Vu.
Like the D-Type before it that fell victim to regulation changes, so did the XJ13. Once again officials changed the rules and Le Mans racers were restricted to three litre engines in 1968. It was a cruel blow to Coventry. The XJ13 was shot down before leaving one starting grid in anger. The car was mothballed. A one-off experiment. Yet, it was not a complete loss of time, effort and money. Work continued on the V12 as a production engine. By 1971 it would take its debut place under the bonnet of the Series 3 E-Type, and would go on the grace many Jaguar saloons as well.
The XJ13 story does not end there. Naturally, when Jaguar went to launch the V12 E-Type is was keen to get some mileage out of the XJ13. So, in 1971 the car was taken out of storage and used to shoot footage at speed for a film clip. A wheel failed and the car speared off the MIRA track and rolled and was almost destroyed. By some miracle the driver survived. The car was later rebuilt and became a show car for static displays and 'slow driving.'
It now lives in retirement in the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Museum in the UK, and makes rare appearances outside. Our featured car is a magnificent replica XJ13 we found at the Macleans Bridge Car Show in Queensland.
Fittingly, it was lined up next to a bevy of stunning XK 140 and 150 cars and provided show-goers with hundreds of Kodak moments. It may only be a replica, but Malcolm Sayers' design from almost 50 years ago is as awesome now as ever.
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