In late 2023, it was announced that British race team and engineering outfit TWR was being revived in order to deliver a high-performance modern-day Jaguar-based restomod. Details on the fledgling firm’s plans were scant, though the new TWR did announce that it had brought on help from industry legends Magnus Walker and Khyzyl Saleem to bring its first project to life.
Coming more than 20 years after TWR originally went under, the new iteration of the company has now finally revealed what will be its inaugural offering with the TWR Supercat super-GT restomod.
The Original TWR
Short for Tom Walkinshaw Racing, TWR was founded in 1976, originally operating out of Kidlington, near Oxford in the UK. Headed up by Tom Walkinshaw, the company worked on a wide variety of vehicles, including preparing Jaguars for the British and European Touring Car Championships — several of which were used to achieve first-place finishes at Le Mans. After bagging numerous wins at Le Mans, TWR would eventually enter into an official partnership with Jaguar to form JaguarSport, which eventually went on to churn out some extremely legendary race vehicles including Jaguar’s iconic XJR-15 and XJ220 supercars. Eventually, after several decades of successfully operating, TWR shuttered its operations in 2002 — just a few short years before founder Tom Walkinshaw’s death in 2010. And while it’s been more than 20 years since TWR first closed up shop, there’s no denying the indelible mark the race squad and engineering firm left on motorsport.
The New TWR
No longer an acronym, the new TWR brand was recently revived by Tom Walkinshaw’s son, Fergus Walkinshaw — along with support from Fergus’ friend and business partner, Tom Kane. Rather than looking to tune or upgrade Jaguar’s latest and greatest offerings, Fergus Walkinshaw has instead opted to follow in his father’s footsteps by bestowing his own unique treatment onto one of the same cars his dad wrenched on; the Jaguar XJS. In order to ensure the revived TWR brand would hit the ground running, Fergus Walkinshaw opted to call in help from two of the most legendary names currently working in the automotive sphere; outlaw-obsessed Porsche-tuning icon Magnus Walker; and world-renowned vehicle designer and concept artist Khyzyl “The Kyza” Saleem.
The TWR Supercat
For the new TWR’s inaugural offering, the revived company has chosen to create a high-performance restomod known as the Supercat. Designed by Saleem and benefitting from consulting from Walker, this spare-no-expense restomod is still recognizable as being an XJS, though barely, as the Kyza has bestowed the thing with his signature slammed and flared widebody treatment that sees the Jaguar donor receive a vented hood, LED lighting all around, a massive front splitter, side skirts, enormous fender flares, a rear diffuser, and a ducktail spoiler. Unsurprisingly, TWR has opted to being Saleem’s design to life in carbon fiber. The entire vehicle also rides on a set of retro-inspired center-locking wheels fitted with carbon aero disc covers.
12-Cylinder Tire-Slayer
Under the hood of the new TWR Supercar is a V12 engine, which is a fitting choice considering the original Jaguar XJS was offered with an available dozen-cylinder mill. Unsatisfied with the roughly 300hp that the stock XJS 6.0 offered, the revived firm has treated its forthcoming restomod to markedly more potent 12-banger that’s fitted with a modern supercharger and paired with a bespoke exhaust setup that sees spec fumes ejected from side-exiting mufflers located flush in the bodywork just in front of the rear wheels. Thanks to this forced induction system and presumably quite a bit of tuning, the TWR Supercat’s supercharged V12 will reportedly be good for over 600hp — a figure that practically guarantees some thoroughly impressive and thoroughly modern performance capabilities. The V12 will also come bolted to an unspecified manual gearbox.
Spec Sheet
Brand: TWR
Model: Supercat
Donor: Jaguar XJS
Designer: Khyzyl Saleem
Body: Carbon Fiber
Engine: Supercharged V12
Power: 600+ HP
Starting Price: $285,000
Scheduled Release: Q4 2024
Pricing & Availability
Deliveries for the first TWR Supercar units are expected to begin by the end of 2024, and the car will be offered in both the U.S. and UK. Pricing for the restomod will start at £225,000 (~ $285,000). In total, the TWR Supercar will be limited to only 88 units in total — a nod to the year (1988) that the TWR Jaguar XJR-9 won Le Mans.
Recap
TWR Supercat Restomod
Designed by Khyzyl Saleem and benefitting from consultation from Magnus Walker, the TWR Supercat is an upcoming carbon, wide-bodied Jaguar XJS restomod with a supercharged V12 engine that’s mated to a manual gearbox and good for over 600hp.
