The Proteus XJ13 dates from the early 1990s, basically the realization of a dream to make the experience of a unique and priceless prototype available to a select few. This example arrived in our workshop in Autumn 2017 needing re-commissioning…
• Client: Confidential
• Work: Re-comission
• For Sale: No
Jaguar works team stopped competing in the 24 Hours Le Mans in 1955, having achieved 3 victories in the first part of the decade. The non-works D-Types of Ecurie Ecosse added another 2 victories in 1956 and 1957. The 1950s saw Jaguar become the reference in long distance sports car racing, and one of the great names in the sport.
Jaguar´s withdrawal, unlike Mercedes, was not intended to be permanent, but to make time for the design a successor to the outstanding D-type. Jaguar´s chief designer, Walter Heynes, lost no time in developing a concept for a mid-engined car powered by a 5 litre V12 engine. However, a devastaing fire at the Browns Lane factory brought a necessary change in priorities and the shelving of the project. When the situation had recovered, Jaguar began to consider a return to racing, so in 1964 Derrick White and Malcolm Sayer updated the earlier designs and signed off the prototype XJ13. The car reached 260kph with no difficulty, but flat-lined at 280kph. This was not fast enough to run at the front at Le Mans, leading Jaguar to definitively cancel the project.
The XJ13 was retained and in 1971 was brought out of retirement to be used in a promotional film for the new Jaguar E-type V12. Unfortunately, a blow-out at high speed on the MIRA test track ended in a series of barrel rolls, heavily damaging the car. Jaguar decided to restore the car, as a swansong tribute to its golden years. The work was completed in 1973, since when enthusiasts have revered the XJ13 not so much for what it was, but for what it could have been.
As often happens in such cases, replicas and recreations began to appear, Proteus making the best examples…
Proteus has been a highly-respected maker of Jaguar sports racer replicas since the early 1980s, when they produced their first C-type. Proteus´ owner, Jim Marland, spared no expense to make his recreation of the XJ13 as close to the original prototype as practically possible, installing a 5.3 litre V12 Jaguar engine in a tubular metal chassis, with glassfibre chosen to reproduce the curvaceous lines of a 1960s sports prototype.
The result is as good as it looks. The first Proteus XJ13 appeared in the early 1990s, enabling small numbers of marque fanatics to enjoy the unique experience of the XJ13 prototype.
When it arrived at CCRJ in Autumn 2017, this example needed a thorough re-commission, due to insufficient use over too many years, conditions which produce deterioration in a thoroughbred classic. With the discovery of some dubious “fixes”, our challenge was not just to restore the XJ13 to health, but also to improve its dynamics. Engine, transmission, brakes, suspension and cosmetic presentation have all been given the CCRJ touch, and all objectives have been achieved, leaving the car driving as well as it looks.
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