Jaguar first unveiled the XJ220 in concept form at the 1988 British Motor Show and following high praise, production of the car was approved a year later. Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) was employed to help develop the car and by 1990, prototype 001 was complete having been built by hand. After two more years of tweaks the first XJ220 was delivered to a customer in June, 1992 for the princely sum of £470,000. Production ceased in 1994 by which time 275 cars had been built.

At 213mph it was the fastest production car in the world, and due to its advanced aluminum honeycomb body, was immensely strong and, considering its size, very light weighing just 1,470kg. Powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, the XJ220 channeled its drive through 18-inch rear wheels via a 5-speed gearbox and developed 542hp and 475lb-ft of torque. Standstill to 60mph was timed at under 4 seconds. The XJ220S was the road-going version of the XJ220C, built to compete in GT racing, boasting a carbon-fiber body, front splitter, wider sills and an adjustable rear spoiler.

Pictured here in yellow is the very first XJ220S, which was built using spare parts from the Le Mans cars and that created 680hp and 526lb-ft of torque thanks to an overhaul to the twin-turbo V6. Only six were ever built, with one recently being sold in auction for $230,000. The silver car shown is chassis 004, one of the ten pre-production vehicles. It was used for tire and high speed testing at Fort Stockton, Texas in 1991 with the car hitting 213mph during the testing process.