The 1990s were the era of the turbocharged supercar, and few could match the slippery looks and top-speed numbers of the Jaguar XJ220.
Powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6, it made 540 hp, went from 0–60 in 3.6 seconds, and had a top speed of 213 mph. For a brief time, it was the fastest production car in the world—until the McLaren F1 came along.
During its development, however, the XJ220 inadvertently gave rise to one of the silliest vehicles of all time. In need of an engineering testbed to work out the bugs on the V6, TWR turned to something innocuous: a Ford Transit.
The swapped-in XJ220 running gear gave this utilitarian box 540 hp. It was, as you might imagine, an absolute terror.
As TWR and the XJ220 faded into history, the Jag-Van sat unloved on a back lot. For a time, it was a parts truck for the Benetton F1 team. Later, XJ220 specialists Don Law Racing acquired it and set to work restoring and improving it.
As it sits today, the van is equipped with XJ220 wheels up front and racing slicks in back. It now makes a 640 hp, and the suspension has been set up to compensate for the truck's original, baked-in understeer.
Top speed is somewhere north of 170 mph, and it regularly runs the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, embarrassing prettier machinery.
To complete the look, the Jag-Transit carries a ladder and has a dash covered in fast-food wrappers and tabloids—these are glued on, mind you, in order to handle the speed the truck generates.
The British motoring industry has a proud tradition of building very fast cars in sheds. This, as far as anyone can tell, is the only time they made the shed fast, too.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...s-ford-transit-helped-build-the-jaguar-xj220/
