The Jaguar Sport XJR-15

In the late 1980’s, Jaguar won not only the World Sportscar Championship, but also the most famous endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Both of these victories were achieved in partnership with Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). The XJR-15 was announced at Silverstone in late 1990, and built by JaguarSport in Oxfordshire, England. JaguarSport was a joint venture between Jaguar Cars and Tom Walkinshaw Racing to build tuned versions of Jaguar’s road cars, but also the XJ220 and XJR-15.

The XJR-15 chassis was based on the 1988 Le Mans-winning XJR-9 Group C racer designed by Tony Southgate who is the only Chief Engineer to have won the Triple Crown of Motorsport with his cars winning the Indianapolis 500, Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The beautiful and aerodynamically efficient bodywork was designed by Peter Stevens who went on to co-design the McLaren F1 and the iconic 2-door Subaru Impreza World Rally Cars.

In 1992, Peter Stevens was interviewed about the XJR-15 development “Taking the race car as a base, we widened the cockpit by 75mm and raised the roof by 40mm to allow more headroom. The scale model we ready by Easter 1989, from there we went to clay … which was finished by October 1989. The first prototype was held up by Le Mans preparations, but it was ready for Tom Walkinshaw to drive when he came back from France in July 1990.”

The XJR-15 is the first road-going car built entirely of carbon and Kevlar composites, before the McLaren F1 used similar construction techniques in 1992! The modern supercars we see today, the LaFerrari, the Bugatti Chiron and the McLaren Senna, all can trace their design heritage back to the Jaguar XJR-15, this is the first car to truly bring carbon Kevlar construction from the circuit, to the road.

In keeping with the ‘Group C car for the road’ theme, the 450 bhp, six-litre, dry-sump, V12 engine was taken direct form the Group C racer with a Cosworth crankshaft, connecting rods, aluminium pistons and Zytek-designed and developed fuel injection.

Le Mans veteran and renowned motoring journalist, Tiff Needell, tested a Jaguar XJR-15 at Silverstone in early 1991, commenting Through the very tight chicane, the XJR-15 showed excellent change of direction and I was able to pick up power early for the long right hander leading up to Beckett's. This gradually became a long right-hand power slide as my confidence increased."

The car offered here, chassis 043 is in staggering condition, displaying a mere 52 miles from new! How did the previous owner resist the temptation to experience this XJR-15? Finished in its original paint, and accompanied by its original owner’s manual, this example is truly breath-taking. Fitted with the optional 5-speed manual synchromesh transmission, this is the perfect specification XJR-15. This sale represents a unique opportunity to obtain one of the rarest road going Jaguars, and probably the lowest mileage XJR-15 in the world, after all, its only original once!

Price Upon Application