Ferrari F40 vs Jaguar XJR-15

Best Motoring battle featuring Italian supercar Ferrari F40 vs British supercar Jaguar XJR-15.



Ferrari F40

The Ferrari F40 is a supercar that was produced by Ferrari from 1987 to 1992 as the successor to the 288 GTO, with which it shared some parts. During its production run, the F40 was Ferrari's fastest, most powerful and most expensive vehicle and it remains one of the highest performing street legal vehicles ever produced.

Performance

The F40's light weight of 1100 kg and high power output of 478 hp @ 7000 rpm gave the vehicle tremendous performance potential. Road tests have produced 0-60 times as low as 3.2 seconds, with 0-100mph in 7.6 seconds, giving the F40 a slight advantage in acceleration over the 959, which was considered its primary competitor at the time. From its introduction in 1987 until 1989, it held the record as the world's fastest production car, with a top speed of 201 mph; the record was broken by the RUF CTR "Yellowbird", owing to the RUF's 211 mile-per-hour top speed - although the F40 could still outrun it to its top speed, where then the RUF would go ahead. The top speed was publicly proven capable of its rated top speed in 1992 through an infamous incident in which a Japanese dealership owner proved the car's potential by filming himself touching its top speed on an expressway only to be arrested after he sold a videotape to an undercover policeman. By that time, he already sold ten thousand videos.



Jaguar XJR-15

The Jaguar XJR-15 is a supercar produced by British automaker Jaguar between 1990 and 1992. Only 50 were made, each selling for US$960,165. Based mechanically on the Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9, the car had an aerodynamic body designed by Peter Stevens, who later went on to design the McLaren F1.

The car's production was announced in a press release on November 15, 1990. It was then built by Jaguar Sport in Coventry, England from 1990 to 1992. While all are now privately owned, some were built for professional racing.

The mid-engine, rear-wheel drive supercar is powered by a 450 hp, naturally aspirated V12 engine of 5,993cc, and has a 6-speed manual transmission. The XJR-15’s chassis and bodywork are composed of carbon fiber and Kevlar, and its engine features an advanced electronically managed fuel injection system. The XJR-15 has a 0-60 mph time of 3.1 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph.

Because of its V12 engine, power-hungry buyers saw the XJR-15 as an attractive alternative to the Jaguar XJ220, which was powered by a twin turbo V6. The XJ220 was also a limited production vehicle, of which 281 were built.