The XJ13 was, for its time, quite an advanced piece of design. In 1964 Jaguar began to lay down the foundations of their prototype - at this stage, their sights were set on the 1965 24 hours of Le Mans and initial progress was rapid.
On the 3rd June 1965 an internal "Instruction to Proceed (XJ13 Car)" was issued by Jaguar’s Bob Knight – it started, “Build one prototype competiton car …”. Responsibilities for all aspects of the car’s design were allocated – the responsibility for the body being given to Malcolm Sayer, Phil Weaver and Bob Blake.
During the rebuild by Abbey Panels in 1972/73, certain aspects of the car were altered and it lost its "pure" form as originally envisaged by Sayer. One of the more obvious "enhancements" was the addition of flared/widened wheelarches. The XJ13 log records this was done primarily for "cosmetic reasons". There are many differences between the car I wanted to recreate and the car as it stands today.
21st May 2016 marked the Centenary of the birth of one of this country's greatest design geniuses - Malcolm Sayer
Whilst sourcing parts for the rebuild of the 1966 car, I came across a reference to the use of an "original XJ13 windscreen" which prompted me to contact Pilkingtons on the off-chance the original windscreen patterns may still be available. The reference to the use of the original windscreen formers was found in a XJ13 brochure produced by Jim Marland (former owner of Proteus Cars) in the 1990s. I now have the information I need to ensure my recreation will follow the lines of the original windscreen exactly
