In 2012, I went to the Goodwood Festival of Speed with Parnelli Jones. During that trip, I took a day to go up to Coventry and visit the Jaguar Heritage Museum.
The XJ13 was parked outside.
There is only one original Jaguar XJ13. Seeing it there was quite an experience, and I also met a gentleman who had worked on its steering wheel when the car was being built. He is pictured with me in the photograph. I have forgotten his name, but I remember that connection to the car.
The following day at Goodwood, I met Norman Dewis. Seeing him and the XJ13 together was an amazing experience, especially knowing the history they shared.
Jaguar built the XJ13 as a potential Le Mans contender. Completed in 1966, it had a mid-mounted, five-liter V12 and a body designed by Malcolm Sayer, whose work also included the C-type, D-type and E-type. Only one was built, and it never competed in a race.
Development had to fit around Jaguar’s production-car priorities. Meanwhile, sports-car racing was moving quickly. The project was eventually shelved, leaving behind one of the most intriguing unanswered questions in Jaguar’s racing history: what might the XJ13 have achieved with a full competition program?
Its most dramatic outing came in 1971, during a publicity shoot. Jaguar brought it out for filming at the MIRA test track to help introduce the V12 E-type, with Dewis at the wheel.
In his later account to Car and Driver, Dewis said an outside rear magnesium wheel collapsed while he was running on the banking. He switched off the engine and ducked into the passenger footwell as the car crashed and rolled. He survived, but the XJ13 was badly damaged.
Thankfully, that was not the end of the car. Lofty England authorized its restoration, and Abbey Panels rebuilt it using surviving tooling. The XJ13 appeared at the British Grand Prix meeting at Silverstone in July 1973.
That history was part of what made those two days in 2012 so special. In Coventry, I saw the XJ13 and met someone who had helped make part of it. The next day at Goodwood, I met the man who had tested it and survived its most famous accident.
A trip to Goodwood with Parnelli Jones, a visit to Jaguar in Coventry, and then Norman Dewis with the XJ13. That was quite a couple of days.
Historical sources: Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, “1966 Jaguar XJ13”; Mike Duff’s interview with Norman Dewis, Car and Driver, July 5, 2019. The Coventry and Goodwood encounters are my recollections of the 2012 trip.
Reference: Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust: 1966 Jaguar XJ13.
