From Fast Masters to Salon Privé

Back in 1993, a race series was created for the XJ220, that would be broadcast on ESPN and feature race car legends from all walks of the racing circuit. It pitted former drag racers against NASCAR champions, F1 drivers and Le Mans winners.

Paul Newman, Bobby Unser, David Pearson, George Follmer, Parnelli Jones, Bob Akin, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Allison, Ed McCulloch, Harry Gant, David Hobbs, Troy Ruttman, Eddie Hill, Derek Bell, Gary Bettenhausen, Fred Lorenzen, and dozens of revered stars competed for a six-figure prize.

Whilst it made for some brilliant television at the time, it also stands as one of the most unhinged racing concepts to become a reality. TWR prepared 12 cars to enter the series, that took part in eight car line ups and were rotated between the drivers.

Jaguar never fully estimated the competitiveness between these racing veterans or the different demands of racing on banked oval tracks. The TWR mechanics were relieved that that it only lasted for one season, before the cars were returned to the UK.

Given this back story and its remarkable past as a road and track car, it was great to see the owner  put the car back to its Fast Masters guise. Don Law Racing have carried restoration to the body and mechanics, before being dressed in the original decals. Some of the damaged panels from the 1993 series were in the DLR stores, complete with original stickers. Funnily enough, plenty of spares were produced at the time! Using these as patterns, as well as referencing photographs from the early nineties a new set of decals were created.

The car has been entered in the 2020 Salon Privé, for which it took a Runners up prize in Class P – Classics of the Future.