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XJ220 Transit Van

Reg number: G134XVX started life in 1989 as a humble Ford Transit. It was acquired by Jaguar to allow them to test the running gear of their new supercar, the XJ220 in secret.

542BHP Twin Turbo Jaguar engine

The Transit was transformed by Jaguar into a secret test vehicle for the XJ220’s engine and running gear early on in the development of the XJ220. The van even had a ladder and roof rack fitted as part of its disguise. Unless you noticed the big ZR high speed tyres and XJ220 alloys, there are few clues to the 542bhp engine lurking underneath.

The XJ220 Transit Van has been spotted at  Goodwood Festival of Speed and a few other car shows over the years.
Jim Randle designed the original XJ220 show car which was unveiled at the 1988 UK Motor show.  The Van was bought and road registered in 1989. Given the 6R4 V6 engine was off the shelf, this could have been fitted to the transit very quickly, the wheels and drive train were probably bespoke so would have taken longer to fit.

XJ220 Transit Van

The V12 and four wheel drive system of the original show car wasn’t fitted to the XJ220 van, so Jaguar must have made the decision to ditch the V12 quickly.
The XJ220 Transit Van is incredible to see and a great piece of automotive history as well as being very funny!
Surprisingly this is not the only ludicrously fast Transit Van, Ford’s Supervan 3 was based around an F1 engine…

Final Say
The XJ220 powered Transit is a monstrous hybrid of supercar and builders van. Powered by the 542BHP twin turbo V6 engine, this oddball creation will out accelerate most sports cars with ease. 0-60 is estimated at under 5 seconds and sprint to a ton in around 10 seconds.

Along with the fun of the jaw dropping turn of speed the driver can enjoy the faces of shocked motorists, ideal in this image obsessed world!