4/16/20 12/75 Jaguar XJ220

This is a car that I would like to call a bombshell: When it was first introduced as a concept in 1988 it was planned to have V-12 power to really take on the exotic cars of the time, but when the final production vehicle arrived in 1992 it used a V6 motor though on the bright side it is a twin-turbo V6 and it was enough to accelerate this car to exotic status and to breaking records.  Matchbox released this in 1991 and it looked better with the 8-dot wheels than the later Tyco and this 5-spoke wheel which resulted in a rather high amount of ground clearance.  Matchbox did a great job with this car as it has all of the right curves of the body, the interior with right-hand drive, and the detailed engine, and my favorite part the taillights (from the Rover 200) are tooled into the blacked-out panel at the rear (most other diecast manufacturers would omit to this detail).  Painting it red with a flying Union Jack on the sides really makes this car stand out, though the blue windows are a bit too much.  I believe this was the last outing for this casting as it was never seen again after many uses in the 1990’s.

Specifications:

· Engine: 3.5L twin-turbo DOHC V6, 542 hp.

· Transmission: 5-speed manual

· 0-60 mph: 3.6 sec. est.

· Real vehicle price: $500,000 est. 1992

Rating:  4.2 out of 5 stars