More than 50 Jaguar XJ220s heading for a record-breaking XJ220 parade at Silverstone

Jaguar XJ220s heading for Silverstone Classic in big numbers

Silverstone Classic are plotting a world record meeting of the Jaguar XJ220, aiming for more than 50 examples of Jaguar’s Classic Hypercar to be on show.

The Silverstone Classic Event, held every summer at the Silverstone track, has managed in recent years to garner a bit of a reputation for gathering together large numbers of the same classic marque in one place for an impressive display of mouth-watering metal.

It all started with a huge celebration of the Jaguar E-Type in 2011 – the E-Type’s 50th anniversary – when Silverstone Classic managed to get over 1,000 E-Types to attend, with over 800 taking to the track (although that number has dropped a bit since).

Subsequent record-breaking gatherings include 1,208 Porsche 911s in 2013 and 60 Ferrari F40s in 2012, but now Silverstone Classic is turning its attention to the Jaguar XJ220.

Built for a couple years from 1992-94, the XJ220 has never been a ‘Tier One’ hypercar, and has been a bit mired in controversy since it launched.

Originally planned to feature a V12, Jaguar took 1500 deposits on the car, but the decision to drop the V12 in favour of a turbo V6 – and the arrival of an unpleasant recession – saw Jaguar produce just 271 XJ220s, each costing £470,000 in partnership with Tom Walkinshaw’s TWR.

But it’s 25 years since the XJ220 first started to arrive, and although values don’t even come close to, say. a McLaren F1 from the same period, the XJ220 is now finding a proper following.

So Silverstone Classic are planning a world record gathering of XJ220s this summer, and inviting owners around the world to attend.

Nick Wigley, event organiser, said:

The Classic now has quite a reputation for staging these record-breaking parades but, even by our own very high standards, this promises to be something very, very special.
It all really started back in 2011 with the remarkable cavalcade of 767 E-types, which still holds an official Guinness World Record for a parade of Jaguars. Since then, we’ve seen massive numbers of Aston Martins, Porsche 911s, Ferrari F40s, Ford Mustangs and even grand prix cars all take to the track – and this year, we will add never-before-seen numbers of XJ220s to that incredible roster.

The XJ220 showcase is planned for Saturday 29 July 2017, with a parade lap and invited guests involved with the Jaguar’s development.