“They say beauty fades with time. The Jaguar XJ13 didn’t get that memo.’
Built in secret, crashed on camera, and never raced a single lap
The Jaguar XJ13 remains the most beautiful failure in British motoring history.
A one-off Le Mans weapon that missed the war entirely, flipped itself into a scrapyard, and was lovingly resurrected.
If Shakespeare wrote V12s, this would be his sonnet.
And yet… it never even made the starting grid.
Jaguar XJ13: Glorious, Doomed, and Irresistibly Beautiful
1965–66–Jaguar plots a Le Mans comeback. The XJ13 is conceived: low-slung, mid-engined, and fitted with a bespoke 5.0-litre V12 singing in twelve-part harmony.
1966–The world changes. Le Mans rules shift. Ford’s monstrous GT40 turns up with seven litres of Detroit thunder. Jaguar blinks. The XJ13 never races.
Only one was made, hidden like a Cold War asset in Coventry. Malcolm Sayer’s design is smoother than an E-Type dipped in mercury.
1971–Jaguar dusts it off to show off its new V12 E-Type. Enter Norman Dewis. Cue tyre failure. Cue airborne acrobatics. Norman walks away. The car, not so much.
1970s–Abbey Panels, bless them, rebuild it—not quite original, but stunning nonetheless.
Post-rebuild life–Toured, admired, occasionally over-revved and under-lubricated. Once damaged on a kerb in Copenhagen. Yes, really.
Today–Lives at the British Motor Museum. Worth £15 million? Easily. Probably priceless.
It’s still turning heads. Still breaking hearts.
‘Imagine crafting a mechanical masterpiece, then leaving it in a shed. It’s like finding the Mona Lisa in your garage, propping up a rake.’
