British Leyland contracted Ralph Broad of Broadspeed to create a pair of Jaguar XJ-C V12 coupes for the 1976 British touring Car Championship. Two cars were prepared, but the development period was too short and the cars were not ready until the 6th round of the championship. Throughout 1976 and 1977 the huge Broadspeed Jaguars proved to be significantly quicker with their 540bhp V12 engines than even the leading BMWs. But by the end of the races almost inevitably the Cats had been sidelined with mechanical failures. Embarrassed by such failures, Jaguar withdrew its support for the team and the Big Cat left the tracks at a time when it was probably capable of actually winning.