A Jaguar XJ220, one of the rarest supercars in the world, was found left to rot in Qatari desert with only 900km on the clock
Published on Jan 01, 2026 at 8:20 PM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Dec 23, 2025 at 4:34 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
It’s one of those stories that makes every car lover wince.
A Jaguar XJ220 – once the fastest car in the world – left to decay in the desert.
And with just 550 miles (900km) on the odometer.
Now it’s sitting in Qatar like a sand-covered time capsule no one cared to save.
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Where the world’s fastest car, the Jaguar XJ220, went to die
When Jaguar built the XJ220 in the early ’90s, a rare supercar was born.
It could hit 217mph, powered by a twin-turbo V6, with an eye-watering $650,000 price tag.
For a brief, glorious moment, it was the king of the road.
But the dream fell apart fast.
The original concept promised a V12 and all-wheel drive, but when production cars arrived with a V6 and rear-wheel setup, buyers revolted.
Some even took Jaguar to court, and the project was cut short before it ever hit its stride.
Fewer than 300 cars made it out of the factory.
This particular one, sold new in Lebanon, somehow ended up in Qatar.
And then nowhere.
Photos from crankandpiston.com show the once-glorious supercar buried in dust, paint faded, pride gone.
Collectors can’t believe it.
A basically brand-new supercar left to bake in the desert heat.
It’s the kind of neglect that makes restorers weep.
The growing graveyard of abandoned dreams
It’s not just this Jaguar turning to sand.
Around the world, rare machines are being left to rot – quiet casualties of wealth and time.
In the US, one explorer uncovered an abandoned mansion filled with luxury cars.
A 15,000-square-foot estate once packed with Porsches and a Lotus Esprit Turbo, now decaying under layers of dust.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, the same YouTuber discovered an abandoned double-decked Boeing 747 left behind in a no-longer-operational aviation training base.
Different worlds, same heartbreak.
Luxury built to last, left to crumble.
And for the XJ220, a car that once defined British ambition, it’s a cruel existence.
A car built to chase horizons now can’t even escape the desert it was left in.
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Molly Davidson is a Junior Content Writer at Supercar Blondie. Based in Melbourne, she holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Law from Swinburne University and a Master’s of Writing and Publishing from RMIT. Molly has contributed to a range of magazines and journals, developing a strong interest in lifestyle and car news content. When she’s not writing, she’s spending quality time with her rescue English staffy, Boof.
