By Dean Larson

Photos: Seller, Craigslist

There are cars made famous for what they were able to achieve, like the MkII GT40 at Le Mans, and then there are cars made famous for what they could have achieved. Almost always with a cult-like following, cars like the Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and Bill Thomas’ Cheetah are revered by those in the know, who always seem armed with a handy history lesson for the uninitiated. With just one such example ever built, the Jaguar XJ13 is unquestionably a tale of what could have been.

Conceived as a V12-powered racer in the mid ’60s, the XJ13 was bound to be Jaguar’s Le Mans threat for the likes of Ford and Ferrari. And while solid design work backed the project, it was never a major priority for management, which meant the XJ13 was fairly obsolete by the time a running prototype could be tested in 1966-67. The prototype was stashed away afterward until 1971, when it was to appear in a video promoting the Series 3 E-Type. It was on this occasion that its infamous crash took place, credited to a damaged tire, which largely destroyed the prototype. Repaired a couple years later, the XJ13 prototype is the only car of its kind, and would be worth a great deal today if ever publicly offered.

Replicas of the XJ13 can be found here and there today, with offerings from Race Car Replicas, Rod Tempero, Proteus and others. The RCR version is likely the most affordable, with the company’s builder kit offerings ranging from $31,895 to $51,695. The project offered here on Cincinnati Craigslist looks to be one of RCR’s base kits with the additional bonus of two Jaguar V12 engines thrown in.

Like the company’s other offerings, the car is based on an aluminum monocoque chassis with billet suspension components and a hand-laid fiberglass body. A louvered alloy hood looks to be included on this car, along with a D.O.T. windscreen and polycarbonate rear glass. The Jaguar V12 engine pictured is said to be a runner and looks to be in decent condition, but perspective buyers should count on having to rebuild several systems to work in the bare bones XJ. The seller does not go into further details, but states that there are too many parts to list, so there’s likely a good start here.

At a $27,900 asking price with two V12 engines included, there’s a solid head start on this project. See it here on Cincinnati Craigslist.

To see just how well these kits can look when completed, check out our 2017 feature story Elusive Cat.