John F. Kennedy famously said, “Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.” Then what does that make a car that could have been a success, but was never given the chance? This is the story of one such car; its near miss with history, and the crash that removed it from the limelight.

In the 1950s, Jaguar was a prominent face in auto racing. By 1960, the British automaker has begun talking about a mid-engined car, as other makes had brought mid-engined cars to Le Mans with success. Also, the idea of a V12 engine had been bandied about since 1950, with the hopes of dual overhead cams. While the single overhead cam V12 that started in the XK would eventually make its way into a racecar, this particular DOHC V12 was a dedicated design for a car that would come to be named XJ13.

This engine was essentially two inline-6…