Like the XJ13, the XK180 was one of Jaguar's many styling exercises and prototypes that was never put into production. Also like the XJ13, this is a decision that has been much lamented by Jaguar enthusiasts worldwide. According to Ford/Jaguar publicity, the XK180 was "created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the XK series sports cars". Given its stunning debut at the 1998 Paris Motor Show, the XK180 was a showcase of Jaguar expertise. The retro rear styling recalled the D-Type image with humps behind the passenger's and driver's heads, while the bonnet is reminiscent of the D-Type and E-Type. Providing luxury seating for two people, this car would surely have been a world beater, but it was not to be, and only two of these fabulous cars were ever built. From an engineering point of view it would not have been very difficult for Jaguar to put the XK180 into production. To create the car, Jaguar took a production XKR (an XK8 with the supercharged V8 engine) and shortened the chassis by five inches. The aluminium exterior body panels were made by Abbey Panels in Coventry, from a design by Keith Helfet, a senior stylist with Jaguar. The XJR chassis was itself based on the XJS, Jaguar's controversial replacement for the E-Type. This gave Tempero's the idea to re-create the XK180 with a similar basis. Using a shortened XJS chassis and XJS mechanical components this has turned what some view as Jaguar's ugly duckling into a highly desirable, exclusive and luxurious high speed touring car. A major advantage of the Tempero concept is that the XK180 body can be mounted on a wide variety of XJS-based floor pans. At the purchaser's choice this can range from the 6-cylinder XJS or supercharged XJR; the XK8 or supercharged XKR; or the V12 XJS. The photos show a car under construction and will be regularly updated as the car progresses. This particular car is based on a V12 fuel injected XJS (the HE version). The wooden buck that has been built onto an XJS "mule" car can clearly be seen and the exterior aluminium panels are rapidly taking shape. In another part of the workshop the customer's floor pan has been stripped and shortened and is now having the restored mechanical components installed. With the much lighter bodywork it is expected that the Tempero XK180's performance will not fall far short of its magic moniker!