The headline trait of the Jaguar XJ220 is undoubtedly the fact that it once held the record for the highest top speed achieved in a production car, but after having sampled it in GT7, I'd argue that the 217mph (349km/h) stat completely misses the point—or dare I even say, utterly misleading—when it comes to the character and driving experience of the XJ220.
No, I don't mean to call into question the legitimacy of a run achieved by a straight piped XJ220; what I'm saying is that the top speed of the Jaguar XJ220 is completely irrelevant to the Jaguar XJ220, because when I got behind the wheel of the car in GT7, it really didn't feel like an edgy, balls to the wall hyper performance that wants to make hell on earth of everyone's lives trying to prove itself. Quite the opposite in fact: it was a very sedate, calming, chill car that somehow robbed me of all desire to push it hard. Part of it of course, is just in how the majestic cat handles the corners. Despite being a large, heavy RMR car with enough power to set a top speed record, the Jag is surprisingly sedate in the corners, feeling extremely neutral and drama free to maneuver through the variety of bends present in the game, be they the wide and smooth roads of Fuji, the treacherous, bumpy, hilly and narrow twists of Bathrust, or the entirely fictional flights of fancy like Lago Maggiore. Power oversteer is only really a concern in first gear, which, despite being tall enough to be good for 109km/h (68mph), should see no use on a hot lap given the ample low range torque afforded by the turbocharged V6. The car defaults to gradual understeer when pushed too hard. Sure, the Jag doesn't drive as if there's catnip at every apex, but at the same time, it's not like it's seeking out the kitty litter at every turn, either. It's just a no drama, no surprises driving experience. Coupled with the extremely tall gearing and the abundance of torque on offer from any rev range, the car really deincentivises shifting as well. It's just a car that seemingly doesn't want its own driver to pay it much heed, giving the whole package such a hypnotic ability to lull me into a state of relaxation when behind the wheel. So much so in fact, that it felt downright wrong to race it hard in our weekly lobbies.
But it's not just the gearing and torque that deincentivises shifting: the XJ220 has perhaps the worst turbo lag in the game this side of the Escudo Pikes Peak car. The extremely neutral and stable handling along with the tall gears do mask what really should've been a glaring flaw somewhat, but there's nothing the big cat can do to hide the acres of its kingdom it surrenders to other cars on the straights every time the driver has to lift for an upshift, and this deficit in acceleration performance is only exacerbated by its extremely tall gearing in bid to reach its 220mph target. Even at Monza "No" Chicane with the close quarters slipstream of an F40, I couldn't find a need for 5th gear at all. Despite the cat–like balance of the Jag letting me gain under braking, cornering, and even corner exits, the long gears of the Jag hurts it so much that it surrenders all that advantage and more come any straight that involves an upshift.
It's nigh unheard of in a record setting car, but the Jaguar XJ220 has really surprised me in the week I've spent with it. It's capable of incredible things, and the fact that such high performance is packaged in such an understated and relaxing experience is even more of a testament to the feat of engineering that Project XJ220 represents. But to do any of its amazing things, it needs time. It doesn't have razor sharp turn in. Its turbo takes a moment to spool with every shift. It makes its driver wait in anticipation and appreciate the majestic roar of the journey as it takes its time climbing through its tall gears. To such a car, its top speed is even more irrelevant than in most other cars, because not only do I not want to bring it there, it'd take a dedicated top speed test facility to really find that 217mph. To simplify an XJ220 down to just big numbers for a short–lived marketing stunt feels to me as though a fictional character was forced to do something out of character for promotional purposes, in so doing weakening the integrity of the narrative they're trying to push. That is to say, now that the car has outgrown its need for marketing drivel, I think that the XJ220 is an incredible classic car hampered by its big boost and tall gearing in bid to hit a useless top speed target, and would be better off if it were just allowed to be itself, and I like it enough that I might just do that. But if someone wants to write a big plot twist for the XJ220, there's always the option to dump the XJR-9's V12 engine into it to suddenly make sense of its tall gears and Group C–esque interior.
No, I don't mean to call into question the legitimacy of a run achieved by a straight piped XJ220; what I'm saying is that the top speed of the Jaguar XJ220 is completely irrelevant to the Jaguar XJ220, because when I got behind the wheel of the car in GT7, it really didn't feel like an edgy, balls to the wall hyper performance that wants to make hell on earth of everyone's lives trying to prove itself. Quite the opposite in fact: it was a very sedate, calming, chill car that somehow robbed me of all desire to push it hard. Part of it of course, is just in how the majestic cat handles the corners. Despite being a large, heavy RMR car with enough power to set a top speed record, the Jag is surprisingly sedate in the corners, feeling extremely neutral and drama free to maneuver through the variety of bends present in the game, be they the wide and smooth roads of Fuji, the treacherous, bumpy, hilly and narrow twists of Bathrust, or the entirely fictional flights of fancy like Lago Maggiore. Power oversteer is only really a concern in first gear, which, despite being tall enough to be good for 109km/h (68mph), should see no use on a hot lap given the ample low range torque afforded by the turbocharged V6. The car defaults to gradual understeer when pushed too hard. Sure, the Jag doesn't drive as if there's catnip at every apex, but at the same time, it's not like it's seeking out the kitty litter at every turn, either. It's just a no drama, no surprises driving experience. Coupled with the extremely tall gearing and the abundance of torque on offer from any rev range, the car really deincentivises shifting as well. It's just a car that seemingly doesn't want its own driver to pay it much heed, giving the whole package such a hypnotic ability to lull me into a state of relaxation when behind the wheel. So much so in fact, that it felt downright wrong to race it hard in our weekly lobbies.
But it's not just the gearing and torque that deincentivises shifting: the XJ220 has perhaps the worst turbo lag in the game this side of the Escudo Pikes Peak car. The extremely neutral and stable handling along with the tall gears do mask what really should've been a glaring flaw somewhat, but there's nothing the big cat can do to hide the acres of its kingdom it surrenders to other cars on the straights every time the driver has to lift for an upshift, and this deficit in acceleration performance is only exacerbated by its extremely tall gearing in bid to reach its 220mph target. Even at Monza "No" Chicane with the close quarters slipstream of an F40, I couldn't find a need for 5th gear at all. Despite the cat–like balance of the Jag letting me gain under braking, cornering, and even corner exits, the long gears of the Jag hurts it so much that it surrenders all that advantage and more come any straight that involves an upshift.
It's nigh unheard of in a record setting car, but the Jaguar XJ220 has really surprised me in the week I've spent with it. It's capable of incredible things, and the fact that such high performance is packaged in such an understated and relaxing experience is even more of a testament to the feat of engineering that Project XJ220 represents. But to do any of its amazing things, it needs time. It doesn't have razor sharp turn in. Its turbo takes a moment to spool with every shift. It makes its driver wait in anticipation and appreciate the majestic roar of the journey as it takes its time climbing through its tall gears. To such a car, its top speed is even more irrelevant than in most other cars, because not only do I not want to bring it there, it'd take a dedicated top speed test facility to really find that 217mph. To simplify an XJ220 down to just big numbers for a short–lived marketing stunt feels to me as though a fictional character was forced to do something out of character for promotional purposes, in so doing weakening the integrity of the narrative they're trying to push. That is to say, now that the car has outgrown its need for marketing drivel, I think that the XJ220 is an incredible classic car hampered by its big boost and tall gearing in bid to hit a useless top speed target, and would be better off if it were just allowed to be itself, and I like it enough that I might just do that. But if someone wants to write a big plot twist for the XJ220, there's always the option to dump the XJR-9's V12 engine into it to suddenly make sense of its tall gears and Group C–esque interior.
Engine–Swapping an XJ220:
Engine swaps in Gran Turismo 7 tend to be pretty Frankenstein things: after all, a car is asked to handle power it was never engineered to handle in the first place, and even with a dedicated tuner, sometimes the game simply doesn't give players the tools to really rein in the irreversible swap. It's why I rarely bother with the horrifically expensive procedure, unless I have a very specific need for the combination, i.e. to swap a racecar engine with much better fuel efficiency into a road car. The XJ220 just so happens to fit that bill, and you know what they say about curiosity. It might have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.
When I swapped in the NA V12 from the XJR-9 Group C racecar into the XJ220 however, the big cat surprised me yet again, simply because it is such a "plug and play" engine swap, starkly contrasting the freakshows that I had come to expect from heart transplants. The car remains incredibly stable and just a tad understeer prone, but it puts down power well even on the default Sports Hard tyres. Even the stock 5–speed gearbox feels an incredibly natural match for the increased power; after all, the XJR-9 from which this engine is originally from also only had five forward gears. The only slight complaints I had with the combo was its slight propensity towards understeer, its lack of braking power for the speeds it's now capable of, and I'd really like some downforce at these speeds, the latter two of which are easy fixes in GT7.
Honestly, if you haven't already, I urge you to give the swap a try, expensive as it may be. It might just be the big final puzzle piece that makes the picture more than the sum of its pieces.
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