first V-12 motor ?

[beaulieu]

When was the first 12 cyl. motor made by Jaguar ?

someone was trying to tell me about an early 50s Jag with a 12 cyl. motor in it ,

But I thought it was first in an XKE?

thanks for the info

Beaulieu

 

[jessebogan]

The V12 came out in 1971, first in the Etype, and then XJ12s. It's funny, I have had a bunch of Jags over the years, and it is great in a gas station. Inevitably, if you have an XK engined 6 cylinder car, the first question is "Is that a V12"? When you open the hood on an XJS they never ever ask. With the XJS they either want to know what gas mileage you get, or how much it cost. Or occasionally how fast does it go. What a hoot.

 

[ADIPaul]

Talking of fun in a gas station with a V12, I once pulled up midway between two rows of pumps in my Daimler Double Six VdP, opened both tanks, then put a hose in from either side! The look on the faces of other drivers!!

Paul's Daimler Diary

 

[Ernst Blofeld]

According to this article first thoughts of a V12 were being thrown around in 1954:

https://www.jagweb.com/jagworld/v12-engine/page1.html

But I think that a Jaguar V12 first saw the light of day in the mid-60s situated in the middle of the absolutely beautiful sports-racer, the XJ-13.

https://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12389-2380889,00.html

 

[lemlem1]

The first production passenger car was theE in 1971, buty the XK13 had the dohc V12 much earlier. Like many manufacturers looking for R&D help Jaguar entered many tenders for Government/Military vehicle contracts. The V12 engine was likely considered in this regard as early as WW2. The project I worked on with jaguar was to put the 4.2 engine into a light armoured tracked vehicle during the latter part of the 60's. I do believe that the a V12 was the first option.

 

[John S Farrington]

I have personnally seen an XJ13 which I was previously unaware of. It is a beautiful car akin to an XKSS but it was made in 1966. It wears a V12 engine in the mid section behind the driver. There were less than 10 made and only 2 exist today. One totally original one is at the Jaguar/Daimler museum in Coventry. The other one which I have seen was reconstructed over a period of 7 years after doing a loop de loop in a race. The others were destroyed by racing accidents. This one will be auctioned off in Atlanta on about the 10th of November. It is expected to go for about for about $500K. It is in perfect showroom condition but too expensive for me. It is like a mid engined XKSS and British Racing Green. Some of the chrome trim is series one Etype. (If any one wants to buy it I will be glad to bid on it for you, just send the money) Jack

 

[Roger]

Sorry to correct Jack, but there only ever was one genuine XJ13 built by Jaguar. It has just been the subject of an overhaul by the Jaguar heritage folk to put it back in running order.
Its story was written up in a recent edition of the Sunday Times

 

[John S Farrington]

The XJ13 in Atlanta is very real and so is the one at the Coventry museum. The XJ13 in Atlanta bears the paper work and VI information of the XJ13 and can be seen at the Red Baron auction/antique house: it is currently in the basement. It will be on the auction block on 10 November. This would be an impossible car to clone. It would be understandable that such a rare car might have conflicts about origin and production numbers. Seeing it is believing it.

 

[KerryStagmer]

one xj-13 ever....

there are quite a few clones out there..... but only one EVER made by Jaguar.... there were 10 engines(dohc v12), only 2 of which had gear driven timing. BOTH engines are with the ONLY original xj13 AT jaguar....

Check the engine, I'd be very suprised to hear it is a dohc with inlet ports BETWEEN CAMS like the original.

 

[Don_Neff]

XJ13 Clones are available as kits or complete cars. There is one in BRG local to me that appears at some of the shows I attend. Very Nice!

 

[zblu]

One over here in West Oz that was reproduced using original plans, cant believe these plans ever made it out of the Jag archives!

 

[Roger]

Sorry Jack, there's only one genuine XJ13. There are dozens of repros, often using the sohc V12 engine. You can get one built to roder today from one of a number of suppliers.
But they ain't real XJ13s!

 

[John S Farrington]

(I stand corrected due to the numbers of my brothers but I find it hard to believe that Red Baron is misrepresenting this beautiful "clone."

 

[jessebogan]

I looked at that car on the Red Baron site last night. It IS beautiful, but there is only one real XJ13. The one that they are selling has an XJS V12engine. It made me wonder about some of the other claims in their other auctions. I wonder if the body is alloy or fiberglass? There are a few companies like Lynx for instance, that make almost nut and bolt exact replicas of Dtypes, XKSS, and I presume the XJ13. I would have one of any of these in my driveway any time. It is the only practical way to obtain, and enjoy, one of these irreplacable cars.

 

[piman]

Hello all,

the other thing about the real XJ13 is that it suffered a serious accident while being test driven by Norman Dewis (Jaguars test driver at that time) When you see the cam covers they are just like the (polished) XK engine ones.

Alec

 

[fncycat]

I visited the factory last year, and got a chance to look over the real XJ-13. A fantastic car which if it had been allowed to race would have blown away the competition.
Standing next to the car is Norman Dewis, the legendary test driver for Jaguar. He destroyed the car during a test run, and Jaguar spent an additional fortune putting it all back together again.
I will try to attach a photo.

 

[PC]

Just to clear up any confusion, the description in Red Baron’s Antiques’ catalog reads: “Our 1966 Jaguar XJ13 was built in the 1990’s and took over seven years to construct by a craftsman and the Jaguar Race Division with a Senior Executive of The Ford Motor Company. It is titled as a 1966, is left hand drive and street legal with speeds of up to 200mph.”

Does that mean it’s no longer street legal over 200mph? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Anyway, I doubt many would argue that the XJ13 is one of if not the most spectacular sports cars ever (well, sort of never) made.

Not surprisingly, there appears to be a significant market for replicas. I wonder if there’d be a market for engine replicas too? I always loved that V12 with the injectors’ velocity stacks flying up between the cams. The later V12’s aren’t really based on the same block (from what little I’ve read anyway) but still, if somebody designed and built dohc heads that would bolt onto the later blocks wouldn’t that be something?

You’d only have to fab the heads, cam drives and ancillaries since everything for the bottom end is available. It sure wouldn’t be cheap but if you’re already coughing up the cash for an XJ13 replica…

PC. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif

 

[equiprx]

I think the most reputable XJ 13 replicar is the Proteus made in the UK and sells only as a rolling chassis for £50K.--
Steve D’Angelo, Service Technician
1994, XJS, v12, 6.0 coupe
1994, XJS, 4.0 coupe
Hills Motors, Jaguar, Rolls Royce & Bentley
4011 Pacific Blvd.
San Mateo CA 94403 MOBILE: 650.455.1110

 

[DrEntropy]

These guys ain't shabby either:

XJ-13 Repro

 

[rileyimp]

The car at Red Baron was built by Predator Performance in Largo Florida. They will be happy to build you one as well if you are willing to pay the going price. The auction number I heard from Red Baron was $275,000.00. Can anyone verify that number??? I know the boys down at Predator would like to know as well.