poor directional stability and "terrible visibility" were also disliked. Most criticised was the behavior at low revs, the engine sound was described with words like "a pail of nuts and bolts being poured through a Magimix", rattling clutch, grinding transmission, crackling chassis, rumbling and groaning body contributing to the impression of imminent breakdown. Driving in the city was sheer torture, worsened by the first gear being far too tall for stop-and-go traffic according to Auto Motor und Sport. Sales performance was disappointing. Jaguar had intended to produce up to 350 cars, but production ceased in 1994 with 281 production cars produced, not all of which had been sold; some left-hand drive examples were still available in 1997. The recession combined with the drastic changes to the production version left many of those who placed a deposit unable to complete the purchase. The index linking of contracts exacerbated the issue, and added almost £200,000 to the purchase price between early 1990 and mid-1992. The McLaren F1 suffered from similarly poor sales performance, with just 71 cars sold against McLaren's target of 300. McLaren's F1 program eventually turned a small profit due to the sale and servicing of the 28 GTR racing variants produced. Jaguar customers attempting to withdraw from their contracted purchases were given the option to buy themselves out of their contracts, but by 1995, the issue had resulted in legal action as buyers claimed the specification changes rendered any contracts void. Jaguar produced evidence clearly demonstrating that the vehicle specification shown in the contract matched the vehicle that was delivered and the presiding judge, John Donaldson, quickly ruled in Jaguar's favour. The last of the unsold XJ220s were sold for £127,550 plus VAT in 1997. While never officially approved for sale in the United States, the XJ220 was approved under the Show or Display exemption by 2001. The XJ220 appeared in later motoring press articles; Evo journalist David Vivian, writing a head-to-head test between the XJ220 and the Lamborghini Murciélago in 2009, commented that "going ludicrously fast seems trivially easy" and acknowledged that the decision to change the V12 engine for a turbocharged V6 engine "would garner more acceptance now". The Lamborghini delivered the far better driving experience however: "After the XJ220, it’s almost absurdly agile", "the big difference, and it is massive, is how much more exciting, entertaining and accessible the LP640 is to drive." Racing A racing