Sep 10

Sep 10 Guide: Jaguar XJ220 Pininfarina Speciale

Jaguar - Jaguar XJ220 - 1990s British Cars - 1990s Supercars - One Offs - Pininfarina - Sultan of Brunei

Background

During the 1980s and 1990s, the Sultan of Brunei and his brother, Prince Jefri, purchased an enormous fleet of prestige and exotic motor cars.

Flush with the proceeds of Brunei’s natural gas and oil reserves, the two men almost single-handedly kept British firms like Rolls Royce, Bentley and Aston Martin afloat in what were troubled economic times.

In addition to ordering high end machinery by the dozen, the Brunei royals commissioned a large number of uniquely appointed vehicles, often with custom coachwork.

Although fairly commonplace up until the late 1950s, bespoke bodywork for private individuals was practically extinct as the 20th century drew to a close; type approval and inflexible manufacturing techniques meant that the price of one off creations had risen to well into the millions of pounds.

To complement huge numbers of regular Jaguars, no less than 20 XJ220s found their way to Brunei between 1992 and 1995. This figure included 18 standard production models, the 1993 Le Mans class winning XJ220-C and a unique Pininfarina-bodied road car.

The Pininfarina XJ220 is understood to have been built on a 1992 chassis numbered SAJJEAEZ7AX220889.

Like many of the Brunei customs, in addition to its restyled interior and exterior, the XJ220 Pininfarina Speciale also came with a host of technical upgrades. Most notably, a Williams F1 paddle-shift gearbox was installed along with power-assisted steering, an improved cooling system and reworked electrics.

The engineering side of the project was handled by Italtecnica of Turin. Italtecnica frequently carried out work on prototype vehicles for companies such as Ferrari, Maserati, Pininfarina and Bertone.

Bodywork

Cosmetically, Pininfarina gave the XJ220 a complete makeover.

The nose intakes were enlarged and more aggressively contoured. The original concealed headlights were switched to four individual lenses per side mounted underneath clear covers.

Two enormous semi-elliptical cooling vents were carved out from the front lid.

The cockpit was tapered towards the rear and two-piece side windows were installed.

At the back, Pininfarina created an elaborate double vane spoiler with a full width bank of headlights in between.

Body panels were manufactured by Coggiola of Turin.

A unique shade of dark green metallic paint was chosen along with a two-tone black and green interior.

Interior

Inside, very little from the production XJ220 remained; the seats, dash, centre console, steering wheel and door panels were completely new.

White-faced instruments were housed in a sweeping binnacle that was integrated with an angled central console where all the switchgear was located.

Upholstery was a mix of green and black leather with charcoal alcantara.

Chassis

Aside from the aforementioned technical changes, Pininfarina’s XJ220 retained the standard mechanical specification.

Under the skin was an aluminium and bonded honeycomb monocoque complete with double wishbone suspension, inboard coil springs, Bilstein gas-filled dampers and anti-roll bars.

The ventilated AP Racing disc brakes had a 330mm diameter at the front, 300mm diameter at the rear and aluminium four-piston calipers.

17 x 9-inch and 18 x 14-inch Speedline Corse wheels came shod with Bridgestone Expedia tyres.

Engine / Gearbox

Jaguar’s all-alloy 90° V6 was fitted with two Garret T03 turbos, two air-to-air intercoolers, multipont fuel-injection with dual injectors and Zytek electronic management. Two catalytic converters and dry-sump lubrication were also employed.

Displacement was 3498cc thanks to a bore and stroke of 94mm and 84mm respectively.

Jaguar quoted a peak output of 542bhp at 7200rpm and 475lb-ft at 4500rpm.

In addition to this unique XJ220, the F1-style paddle shift gearbox developed by Williams also found its way on to several other special Brunei commissions.