This exciting car is a re-creation of the original Jaguar XJ13
made by Jaguar in 1966.

Expression of Interest.

Stirling Moss drove the original XJ13 in the 1987 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide.

PLEASE CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO OPEN LARGER PHOTO


        



        



        



       



        



        



        



        



        



        

CAR EVENTS

Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 1990

Test driver for Jaguar, Norman Dewes, drove the re-creation and was heard to say it "handled like the original"

Dutton Rally
Geelong to Adelaide 1990

Targa Tasman Rally

Classic Adelaide Rally (twice)

Classic Adelaide Rally participants have included Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Win Percy and Peter Brock.

PUBLICITY

To car enthusiast over the past generations, there is one sports racing car that stands out. It is built on a great heritage, has beautiful lines, only one was built and it never raced.

The Jaguar XJ13 was Jaguar's project to get back into car racing in the mid 1960s, principally in the Le Mans 24-hour event in France, so taking on the giant Ford outfit which created the seven litre V8 Ford GT40 in turn to squash the exotic Ferraris.

The XJ13 secret weapon featured a mid-engine V12 engine capable of 375kW of power but the car was delayed in trying to get it to handle as well as the GT40s. In the end, the rules on engine size were changed and the car was put under a dust cover.

Subsequently, Jaguar introduced a V12 engine to its road cars, the E-type and later the the XJ saloon. So in 1971, the XJ13 was wheeled out into daylight for some secret filming as publicity for the V-12 E-type launch. But it crashed and was once again sent back to the dark sheds.

However, forms had been retained for the body panels and restoration went ahead. Eight years after the car was built, it was shown for the first time at the 1973 British Grand Prix and wowed people.

Fast forward 14 years and the precious XJ13, for which Jaguar has refused a $20 million offer, was brought to Adelaide for the Australian Grand Prix. Stirling Moss drove it one the Adelaide street circuit in 1987 and in the Climb to the Eagle.

"I heard about this car coming and then saw Stirling Moss driving it", says Colin Sutton, now 64, of Stirling, who was at the track that day.

"It was on display at the Wakefield St garage, the engine was running and the noise was bringing down the silver paint from the ceiling. I thought "This is an exciting motor car and I was well and truly hooked."

"There have been a few look-allikes built ," he says, "But this one is almost identical. It's even got the same number of rivets and has an aluminium body when other look-alikes use fibreglass, it has a ZF gearbox just like the original car and it is 38 inches(96cm) high," he says of the critical factors.

Mr Sutton has since taken over the British racing car and still marvels at its engineering and shape. It has 30cm wide tyres and, designed for long-distance high-speed races, has radiators to cool the gearbox oil, fuel and engine oil.

He's putting in a 7.6L, quad cam, V12 engine with 4 valves a cylinder, enough to match the original car's power.

"We think this is the only XJ13 in the world which is road-registered," he says. He's driving it in this weekend's Classic Adelaide Rally.

"When you sit in it you feel like you are sitting in an aeroplane," he says. "It has an unusual sound. Right behind our head you can hear the timing chains turning.

"You have to drive it. It has a mind of its own. You have to be aware of what you are driving. It has a firm ride."

Performance aside, Mr Sutton loves the body shape. "The body is a work of art," he says, rating it way above his Jaguar saloon and his 1974 Jensen-Healey V8.

Stuart Innes, Adelaide Advertiser, 24 Nov 2007