In the 1980s and 1990s, Tom Walkinshaw’s TWR was one of the kings of car racing in Europe. Synonymous with racing Jaguars, the company won the World Sportscar Championship multiple times and took home multiple wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona. The partnership was so strong that TWR started developing Jaguar road cars — first an XJ-S and later the iconic Jaguar XJ220.
It’s been a few years, but now the name is back. With Tom’s son Fergus at the helm, the new TWR has just revealed the Supercat — a super grand-tourer based on the classic XJS but brought up to the moment with a new engine, modern materials, and a bold body kit.
Jag V12 Gets More Displacement & Supercharged Power
This cat’s beating heart is a 5.6L V12 — an enlarged and supercharged version of Jag’s old V12. It now makes 651 horsepower, up from 281, and 538 pound-feet of torque, instead of the stock 318.
TWR has helped those ponies work smarter instead of just harder by lightening the chassis. Carbon fiber panels make up for the tubular steel strengthening, and the curb weight is a claimed 3,538 pounds. That’s almost 10% lighter than the original.
A new dual-wishbone suspension uses active dynamic dampers for long-distance comfort, but TWR says it delivers stability and feedback on twisty roads and the track. Optional carbon ceramic brakes help cut weight while also delivering more consistent stopping from high speeds.
Peak Touring Car Styling
Khyzyl Saleem did the touring car-style bodywork. He has worked on cars for Ken Block and Travis Pastrana in the past, and clearly knows how to make an extreme car look good.
For this one, he got some input from noted Porsche customizer Magnus Walker. The result is a car that looks like it was sent back in time to use modern aerodynamic knowledge in a 1980s race car.
TWR has also modernized the interior. New leather trimming, custom switchgear, and a new digital dash cluster make it look up to the minute. It even has a new infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay.
TWR Plans More Modernized Classics Like This
The company plans to build just 88 of these cars, a nod to Walkinshaw’s Le Mans win in 1988 with the XJR-9. Each one is built to order and offered in left- or right-hand drive. Pricing starts from £225,000, which works out to around $285K USD.
After the Supercat, TWR plans to build more new models. It hasn’t said what — and Jaguar doesn’t have that many older models — but the company said that it will combine modern engineering with a classic base, just like this car. There are some build slots open if you absolutely need this Supercat to be your garage cat.
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