Jaguar XJ13 Replica
The Jaguar XJ13 was a prototype racing car developed by Jaguar to challenge at Le Mans in the mid-1960s. It never raced, and only one was ever produced.
With only one prototype of the XJ13 ever built by Jaguar, that car became a natural target for replicas. A few were built, but only one comes as close to the original. Canberra’s John Wilson spent 12 years building this perfect replica, down to the Concorde plane rivets in the bodywork. After a whole lot of classic car rallies, it was sold to another Jaguar aficionado who immediately started a total rebuild and took the engine up to 560kW.
The XJ13-R features a quad cam, 48 valve 700+hp V12 engine, with a Hewland five-speed gearbox. The car has identical wheels to the original, and even the rivets are placed in the same positions as on the original car.
Jaguar’s original test driver, Norman Dewis, who tested the prototype back in 1966 (now in his 90s) drove this replica and said: „It’s as close as I’ll ever come to driving the original.“
With only one prototype of the XJ13 ever built by Jaguar, that car became a natural target for replicas. A few were built, but only one comes as close to the original. Canberra’s John Wilson spent 12 years building this perfect replica, down to the Concorde plane rivets in the bodywork. After a whole lot of classic car rallies, it was sold to another Jaguar aficionado who immediately started a total rebuild and took the engine up to 560kW.
The XJ13-R features a quad cam, 48 valve 700+hp V12 engine, with a Hewland five-speed gearbox. The car has identical wheels to the original, and even the rivets are placed in the same positions as on the original car.
Jaguar’s original test driver, Norman Dewis, who tested the prototype back in 1966 (now in his 90s) drove this replica and said: „It’s as close as I’ll ever come to driving the original.“
Fact File
Body:
- All aluminum – hand made, riveted inside and out
Fuel Tanks :
- 1 x 70L, 1 x 30L
- This was to balance the car for racing, taking into account the driver’s weight
Brakes:
- Double twin air boosted tanks, drilled and grooved disks front and back
Gear Box :
- ZF 5 Speed (as in the original) with lock-out on first gear
Engine:
- V12 Quad Cam
- 7.4 L
- Specially made light weight cranks
- 4 x Valves per cylinder = 48 Valves
- Dry Sump
- 20lbs taken out of new engine
- Made for all Jaguar parts