What’s that? You desperately want fresh rubber for your 20-plus-year-old supercar? Well, fear not, because Bridgestone is here to help. Working in conjunction with U.K.-based XJ220 specialist Don Law, Bridgestone has announced that it’s developing a next-gen tire for Jag’s decades-old two-seat speed wedge.

For some time now, XJ220 owners have had to tread carefully (see what I did there?) when it came time to actually using the XJ220’s twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6, as appropriately sized tires are no longer in production.

Now, however, following a “coming together of minds” between Bridgestone and Don Law, the tire maker will coordinate a new compound for the uber-kitty, bringing the car’s original chief development engineer and test driver along for the ride. A pre-production XJ220 model will provide the test bed.

“It’s very important to keep such iconic vehicles running today and supporting people like Don Law and his team of expert technicians,” said Christophe de Valroger, Vice President Consumer OE at Bridgestone Trope. “ Technology has moved on significantly in the last 25 years and we believe we will be able to produce a tire that will keep the smile on the face of the enthusiast drivers of the XJ220.”

The plan is to get the tires finished in time for the model’s twenty-fifth anniversary next year.

I think that’s worthy of a burnout, don’t you?

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It’s fascinating this is even an issue. An original bumper, intake manifold, rear glass engine cover… these are the things you’d expect to have a hard time finding. But tires?

I guess it’s not totally outrageous. Only 271 examples were produced during the XJ220’s brief production run between 1992 and 1994, and given it was the fastest car in the world when it was first released, you can’t really throw anything on there and call it a day.

What I’m most interested to find out is what the new tires do for the car’s performance. Like Christophe de Valroger said – the technology has progressed quite a bit since the car’s release.

I guess it’s time to set some new lap records for the old-school Jag then, eh?

Jaguar XJ220

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