tera® quad-cam V12 · Engineered in Coventry, England
The Le Mans V12 history never finished. Now built to your spec.
Inspired by Claude Baily's legendary Jaguar quad-cam racing engine and the V12s that screamed around 1960s Le Mans, the tera® is a normally-aspirated power unit that revs to 8,500 rpm — in 5.0, 6.1, 6.8 or 7.3 litres, from street-spec to full-race.
Hot-tested and warranted · Support through installation
- 350–670+
- Horsepower
- 8,500
- RPM rev limit
- 5.0–7.3
- Litres
- 650+
- lb ft torque
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The tera® "quad-cam" V12 — a beautifully sculptural power unit, designed to be seen.
2016 International Historic Motoring Awards
Finalist — XJ13 recreation
As featured on
Jay Leno's YouTube channelUK Enterprise Awards 2026
Recognised by industry
Comprehensive warranty
Hot-tested before delivery
The gap
A modern transplant can't do justice to a period build.
Off-the-shelf crate engines sound, look and feel out of place in a 1960s recreation. Jaguar's own quad-cam V12 was conceived to return the marque to Le Mans glory — then shelved before it ever turned a wheel in anger. The tera® is that engine's "what might have been", finally realised.
The engine
One engine. Three reasons it belongs in your build.
Performance
350–670 hp and 300–650 lb ft from a normally-aspirated, over-square 2-valve architecture. Duplex-chain-driven cams with Vernier adjustment and a safe running rev-limit of 8,000–8,500 rpm.
Heritage
An evolution of Claude Baily's legendary Jaguar quad-cam racing engine, drawing on the Ferrari, Jaguar, Tatra and Lamborghini V12s that howled down the Mulsanne Straight in the 1960s.
Customisation
Three displacements, period Lucas mechanical or electronic fuel injection, and everything from street-spec to full-race — configured around your installation, not the other way round.
Specification
Engineered to be seen — and to go.
A distributor-less, normally-aspirated V12 with the full visceral experience of a howling race engine. Built and hot-tested in Coventry.
- Capacity
- 5.0 L (305 cu in) · 6.1 L (372 cu in) · 6.8 L (415 cu in) · 7.3 L (446 cu in)
- Bore × Stroke
- 90 × 65.5 mm · 96 × 70 mm · 96 × 78.5 mm · 96 × 84.0 mm
- Power
- 350–670 hp (261–500 kW) · 550 hp @ 9,000 rpm (5.0 L race)
- Torque
- 300–650 lb ft (407–881 Nm)
- Architecture
- 2-valve, over-square · duplex-chain-driven cams with Vernier adjustment
- Induction
- Distributor-less · period Lucas mechanical or electronic fuel injection
- Aspiration
- Normally aspirated (forced induction is an option)
- Rev limit
- Safe running 8,000–8,500 rpm · 9,000 rpm (5.0 L race)
- Output range
- Street-spec to full-race
5.0 L full-race — to period Le Mans specification
The fourth option pairs the 90 × 65.5 mm capacity with quad-cam valvetrain, 12 individual throttle bodies, dry-sump lubrication and equal-length headers for 550 hp at 9,000 rpm. These race features can be applied to the 6.1, 6.8 and 7.3-litre engines too.
Deep-dive
The 5.0-litre race blueprint, in full.
For those who want the complete engineering picture, here is the detailed specification for the 5.0-litre (90 mm bore × 65.5 mm stroke) full-race configuration — built to period Le Mans specification, with 550 hp at 9,000 rpm.
- 90 mm
- Bore
- 65.5 mm
- Stroke
- 4,999 cc
- Displacement
- 550 hp
- Target output
- 9,000
- Peak rpm
Architecture & bottom end
- Bore × stroke
- 90.00 mm × 65.50 mm
- Bore-to-stroke ratio
- 1.37:1 (oversquare)
- Displacement
- ~5.0 litres (4,999 cc)
- Cylinder head
- 2-valve crossflow hemispherical (hemi) dome
- Liners
- Standard 90 mm ductile steel or factory; lips protrude 0.002–0.004 in above the deck
- Pistons
- Tall domed crowns with deep, angled valve reliefs — clearance-checked at max lift/TDC
- Head gaskets
- Standard 90 mm bore
Quad-cam valvetrain, timing & cam profile
- Valvetrain
- DOHC per bank (4 cams total), direct-acting bucket tappets or finger followers
- Timing cassette
- CNC billet 6061-T6 / 7075-T6 plate (15–20 mm); straight-cut spur gears in 8620/9310 steel
- Cam timing
- Multi-bolt vernier hubs for infinite indexing; thermal-growth offset for correct hot backlash
- Cam duration
- Intake 288–294° adv (252° @ 0.050 in) · exhaust 282–288° adv (246° @ 0.050 in)
- Lift & LSA
- Intake 0.505 in (12.8 mm) · exhaust 0.485 in (12.3 mm) · 105° LSA
- Power band
- 5,500–9,000 rpm, peak at ~8,700 rpm
- Springs & retainers
- Dual-coil 125–135 lb seat / 330–350 lb open; titanium retainers
Lubrication — wet sump & dry sump
- Wet sump
- HC wider-rotor pump (+30% volume), 60–70 PSI hot; baffled 12–13 qt pan
- Top-end feeds
- External AN-4 lines, 1.5–2.0 mm feed orifices, AN-10 drain-backs
- Dry sump
- 5-stage external (1 pressure + 3 pan scavenge + 1 head scavenge), 50–55% of crank speed
- Pressure & pan
- 65–75 PSI hot; ultra-low profile billet pan, AN-12 scavenge ports with mesh screens
- Tank
- 3-gallon baffled aluminium, cyclonic de-aeration, AN-12 lines throughout
- Head scavenge
- AN-10 lines from the rear of both heads (protects all 28 cam journals)
- Crankcase vacuum
- 10–15 in Hg for optimised ring sealing
Crankshaft & balancing
- Crank layout
- 6 shared crankpins (2 rods per journal)
- Target peak
- 8,500–9,000 rpm
- Balance
- Internal (zero-balanced), dynamic to ±0.5 g
- Dress
- Balanced with 36-1 trigger wheel, timing gear, dry-sump mandrel, flywheel and clutch fitted
- Damper
- Upgraded high-RPM viscous damper (Fluidampr / ATI)
- Finishing
- Teardrop-chamfered oil holes, gas nitrided, micro-polished journals
Fuel delivery
- Output basis
- 550 hp NA; 12 × Bosch EV14 high-impedance injectors
- Injectors
- 350–440 cc/min (petrol) or 550 cc/min (E85)
- Fuel
- Fully sequential EFI at 3.0–4.0 bar base pressure
- Rails
- Dual billet rails (one per bank), parallel Y-block feed
- Pump
- 255–340 LPH in-tank; track option adds a 1.5 L surge tank with lift pump
- Filtration
- 100-micron pre-filter, 10-micron post-filter; ~167 LPH at WOT
Race induction — 12 individual throttle bodies
- Throttle hardware
- 12 individual throttle bodies (ITB) in the valley; no plenum
- Velocity stacks
- Spun aluminium or carbon fibre, 240–265 mm intake length (valve to stack tip)
- ECU strategy
- Alpha-N with barometric correction and per-cylinder trim
- Linkage
- Centre-pull billet hex-bar, Heim joints, dual return springs per bank
- Protection
- Stainless mesh caps (sprint) or foam socks (endurance)
Exhaust headers
- Primaries
- 1-5/8 in–1-3/4 in OD, Inconel 625 or 321 stainless (18-gauge)
- Length
- 100% equal-length, ±0.25 in; tuned 20–22 in primary length
- Collectors
- 6-into-1 merge with internal pyramid spike; 2.50–2.75 in Venturi outlet
- Alternative
- Tri-Y (6-2-1) layout for mid-range torque
- Junction
- Step-match header ID (1.0 mm wider) for anti-reversion
Ignition & engine management
- Trigger
- 36-1 ferrous wheel (<0.05 mm runout); threaded Hall-effect sensor, 1.0–1.5 mm air gap
- Sync
- Cam sensor (sequential) or crank-only (wasted spark)
- Firing order
- 1A-6B-5A-2B-3A-4B-6A-1B-2A-5B-4A-3B, every 60°
- Coils
- Dual 6-cylinder packs (wasted spark) or 12 sequential channels
- Plugs
- NGK heat range 8–9, fine-wire iridium, non-projected, 0.024–0.028 in gap, 15–20 lb-ft
Figures are for the 5.0-litre (90 mm × 65.5 mm) full-race configuration. Want this level of specification applied to a 6.1, 6.8 or 7.3-litre build? Mention it in your enquiry.
Heritage
A "what might have been", realised.
Claude Baily — former Chief Designer at Jaguar — designed a quad-cam racing V12 to return the marque to its Le Mans glory days. The one-off XJ13 it powered was destined never to turn a wheel in anger, and Baily's engine was reworked into a sedate SOHC production version, its potential shelved.
The tera® represents an evolution of Baily's concept — the power unit that should have been heard howling down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans in 1966, and beyond. A "what might have been". Born to race, its potential never fully realised — until now.
Watch the tera® V12 run — on our YouTube channel"…Between 1949 and 1957 Jaguar were actively involved in motor racing in order to create the sporting image for their cars. Amongst their successes were the winning of the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in the years of 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956 & 1957 as well as Sebring… a 12 cylinder 'Vee' configuration was conceived to provide for safe running at 8000–8500 rpm."
— Walter "Wally" Hassan
Customisation
Configured around your build.
Applications of this engine are limited only by your imagination — from a classic Jaguar upgrade to a full bespoke recreation. And when the dream is bigger than an engine alone, we can project-manage the whole build from concept to completion — see how we turn dreams into reality.
Choose your displacement
- 5.0 litre (305 cu in)POA
- 6.1 litre (372 cu in)£75,000
- 6.8 litre (415 cu in)+£15,000
- 7.3 litre (446 cu in)+£25,000
Prices excl. tax · ex-works · subject to change · FX converted at indicative rates.
Tune it to your use
- 350–670 hp, street-spec to full-race
- Period Lucas mechanical or electronic fuel injection
- ECU, cabling & sensors
- Throttle bodies, injectors & fuel rails
- Remote electric water pump & mount
Supported end to end
- Comprehensive warranty
- Support, advice & guidance through installation
- We can supply everything needed for installation
- Removal, installation & commissioning services
- Part-exchange engines considered
Excludes flywheel, clutch, exhaust headers, velocity stacks and bellhousing — these vary according to installation. We can supply everything needed for your install.
How it works
From enquiry to first fire-up.
Share your project
Tell us the car, your preferred displacement and the power you're chasing.
We spec your engine
Displacement, induction, components and street-versus-race output — matched to your installation.
Build, hot-test & support
Your engine is built, hot-tested and warranted, with guidance through installation and commissioning.
Questions, answered
Before you commit.
What's included in the price?
A comprehensive warranty and support, advice and guidance throughout your installation. Excludes flywheel, clutch, exhaust headers, velocity stacks and bellhousing — these vary according to installation.
Which cars will it suit?
Applications are limited only by your imagination. It's ideal for classic Jaguar upgrades, period recreations and bespoke builds of all kinds.
Is it period-correct?
Yes. It's a beautifully sculptural engine, unashamedly of the period, and normally aspirated — so drivers gain the full visceral experience of a howling V12 race engine.
Can you install it for me?
Yes. Engine removal, installation and commissioning services are available, and we can supply everything needed for installation.
Do you accept part-exchange engines?
Consideration is given for engines offered in part-exchange. Mention it in your enquiry.
Where is it built?
Engineered in Coventry, England, and hot-tested before delivery.
Enquire
Spec your tera® V12.
Tell us about your build — the car, the displacement, the power you're after — and we'll come back with a tailored specification and quote.
- No obligation — a spec and quote, not spam
- Advice on displacement, induction and installation
- Part-exchange and commissioning options discussed