Jaguar XJS reborn as Supercat V12 muscle car

British high-performance firm TWR has launched its first sports car since being revived after being bankrupted 22 years ago.

The newly unveiled TWR Supercat is a supercharged V12-powered Super GT based on the platform of the Jaguar XJS, an iconic British grand tourer manufactured from 1975 to 1996. The Supercat reimagines the Jaguar XJS’s iconic styling with a more muscular design.

Boasting more than 447kW of power, the Supercat is the first offering from the modern TWR, founded by Fergus Walkinshaw and business partner John Kane to build on the legacy left by Fergus’s father, constructor and racer Tom Walkinshaw, who built the original TWR into a global motorsport and performance powerhouse during the 1980s and 90s.

TWR helped develop famous road cars such as the Jaguar XJ220, Aston Martin DB7 and Renault Clio V6, and formidable racing cars including the Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9.

TWR graduated to Formula 1 in 1996 when it purchased a 51% stake in the troubled Arrows team, which ultimately led to the firm’s bankruptcy in 2002.

In 2023 Fergus revived the company as a constructor of bespoke high-performance cars while also working with existing carmakers to maximise the potential of their own products.

Except for the approximate power output and confirming that drive is to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission, further details about the Supercat aren’t known. These, along with the styling of the interior, will be revealed when the full unveiling takes place later this year.

The TWR Supercat will be priced at £225,000 (R5.2m) and only 88 will be built, a number chosen to celebrate the 1988 Le Mans win in the TWR Jaguar XJR-9.

Deliveries are due to start late this year.