The 1966 Jaguar XJ13 was built as a Le Mans prototype. The sad story is the car never participated in any race though the original idea of the automakers of the car was to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Ford in La Sarthe. But time constraints among other factors delayed the project, and the car was finished too late to participate successfully in the race. Another factor is that by 1967, when the car hit the markets the race competition regulations was changed, and it only allowed three liter capacity engines a fact that permanently rendered the 1966 Jaguar XJ13 redundant. The design of this car used all the hallmarks of successful race cars in the 1960s. The features included a V12 engine mounted at a mid-position of the car. The V12 engine had a capacity of 5 L and was designed by engineer Claude Baily. The engine was designed such that it has two DOHC six cylinder engines attached to a standard aluminum block and a crankshaft. The engine mechanical injection that could produce 503 bhp and, as a result, the car attained a speed of 161mph at the MIRA test track. It is a speed that established a new lap record for race cars.
