TWR Presents Global Debut of the V-12 Super-GT Supercat

The UK’s TWR has formally unveiled the Supercat, its radical new Super-GT underpinned by the legendary Jaguar XJS.

Widely trailed in the summer of 2024, the Supercat has already won plaudits from clients and commentators ahead of its public launch, the company noted in a press release announcing the unveiling.

The Supercat has been engineered by a motorsports team led by TWR director and co-founder, Fergus Walkinshaw. His father, Tom, the revered constructor and racer behind the original TWR, drove Jaguars to victories in the European Touring Car Championship, Spa 24 Hours and Bathurst in the 1980s.

The Jaguar XJS provides its essential foundations, but the TWR Supercat also incorporates elements inspired by other great racing Jaguars of the era, including the XJR-9, XJR-15 and XJ220 supercar.

True to its motorsport heritage, the Supercat has rear-wheel drive and a 6-speed manual gearbox for an authentic, engaging and entirely analog driving experience, designers note. Under the long, sculpted carbon-bodied bonnet lurks a potent V-12 supercharged engine, developed in-house by TWR engineers, producing 660 bhp.

“Almost 40 years after my father’s original company dominated the racetrack, we’ve brought the TWR name roaring back with our new Supercat. Our debut product, designed as an authentic, analog Super-GT for the committed driving enthusiast, has been developed for over three years by some of modern motorsport’s brightest talent,” said Fergus Walkinshaw. “Built on the foundations of the classic Jaguar XJS, it uses modern materials and production methods, plus our in-house supercharged V-12, to deliver a visceral, immersive driving experience on the road and the track.”

With production limited to just 88 examples and every car individually commissioned, Supercat offers a chance to own something truly unique and personal, rooted in motorsport history but completely contemporary in its design, engineering and performance, Walkinshaw added.

To corral the added power, the body has been stiffened with an integrated, tubular steel structure with body panels finished in carbon fiber to deliver significant weight savings. Further enablers of the car’s dynamic capabilities include the option to specify carbon ceramic disc brakes from launch, fully programmable traction control, launch control and five distinct driving modes.

Double wishbone suspension, augmented by an active dynamic damping system, delivers a composed Super-GT driving experience on long continental trips while providing assurance, feedback and stability in highly dynamic road and track driving settings.

Inside, the rear seats make way for a significantly extended luggage area. Comfort is delivered through a complete overhaul of the interior cabin, which provides all of the contemporary features expected of a modern Super-GT while remaining sensitive to the classic design that defined the Jaguar XJS.

Highlights include a fully digitalized multimedia interface (MMI) that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The switchgear for adjusting suspension and steering settings is also easy to use and presented through an intuitive toggle interface. Carbon fiber-backed leather seats are available in a highly contemporary finish and a Heritage option that directly references the louvres from the original XJS seats.

“I am proud to have designed a TWR true to its racing and performance DNA from the foundations of one of Britain’s great automotive icons,” said Khyzyl Saleem, designer. “The TWR Supercat represents a ground-up new expression of the original. As a designer, working in a new palette of highly technical materials has allowed me to reenergize the form and stance of the Jaguar XJS to express our mission to create a true Super-GT boldly. In collaborating with TWR’s exceptional team of engineers and aerodynamicists, we have created a car where every line and feature serve a performance purpose, authentically representing TWR’s legacy on the track and on the road.”

The widened design lends a new, more aggressively muscular character to the donor Jaguar XJS’ iconic profile, silhouette, flying buttresses and front graphic, with subtle nods to TWR’s deep, decades-long connection to the Jaguar marque.

An entirely reengineered, bespoke rear splitter provides downforce. Exhausts have been reprofiled from the rear to the side.