Le Mans’ Legend: A Detailed Look At The 1988 Jaguar XJR-9

The long-awaited return to Le Mans came in 1984, when Jaguar teamed up with the American Group 44 team, which designed and built a sports racing car around the Jaguar V12 engine. Two cars competed in the 1984 race, but neither finished. In 1985, a Group 44 car finished thirteenth, winning the GTP category, marking the first time in twenty-two years that a Jaguar was classified as a finisher.

Jaguar won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988 with a team of five XJR-9 cars. Jaguar's victory at Le Mans in 1988 was notable for several reasons. It was the first for the brand since 1957, and it ended Porsche's seven-year winning streak. The mighty XJR-9, one of the coolest sports prototypes of all time, was also featured in the 1988 victory.

A car so powerful that a massive gearbox failure in the final half-hour of the race didn't phase it. Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries, and Andy Wallace drove the winning car, which completed 394 laps and traveled 3313 miles. This followed Jaguar's previous victory at Le Mans in 1957, when the winning D-type covered a distance of 2732 miles.

A Sensational Event At The Le Mans: The 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 Pulls A Breathtaking Performance

Jaguar was a racing force in the golden era, particularly at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which the classic marquee won five times between 1951 and 1957. Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) began racing Jaguars in the European Touring Car Championship with the XJR-9. This resulted in a victory for the Jaguar XJS, which inspired the development of a new Group C car. TWR teamed up with Bob Tullius, who had previously campaigned several Group C cars in the United States under the Group 44 banner. He had taken the XJR-5 to Le Mans with moderate success, thanks to Jaguar's support.

After two failed attempts, Jaguar sought advice from local Tom Walkinshaw. TWR prepared the XJR-6 with assistance from Tony Southgate for racing in both Europe and the American IMSA series. At the time, Group C accepted any engine format as long as it met fuel-efficiency requirements. It used a full carbon-fiber monocoque and undercarriage venturis, which was a departure from previous designs. This car was upgraded with little success into the XJR-7 and XJR-8, which won the 1986 European World Championship but retired at Le Mans. While most teams chose smaller-displacement turbocharged engines, Jaguar stuck with its naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V-12.

TWR already had a 7.0-liter V12 capable of producing 750-hp when the Le Mans-winning design debuted in 1988. Five cars were prepared for Le Mans and the factory-backed Porsche 962C competition with this unit. At the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans, the XJR-9 competed against powerhouses such as Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche. Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries, and Andy Wallace shared the driving duties in the XJR-9 from the start.

The Jaguar racing cars led from the start, but two retirements meant that only the XKR-9 of Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries, and Andy Wallace remained to take overall honors. Finally, it was the XJR-9 that took the checkered flag. It was a historic moment for Jaguar, which returned to glory after a long absence at the famed French circuit. It was also the first time a naturally aspirated engine outperformed a field of turbocharged engines. Despite a transmission malfunction, the car was only driven in fourth gear until it finished two laps ahead of the Porsche 962C.

This was Jaguar's year in sports car racing, as the company won the world championship in 1988 by winning six of ten Group C races. The XJR-12s won Le Mans again in 1990, finishing first and second, and Jaguar won another world championship in 1991, despite finishing second at Le Mans that year. An XJ220C won the GT class at Le Mans in 1993, Jaguar's most recent appearance at the Sarthe circuit. And the Jaguar may return to its favorite hunting grounds one day.

The only time this car (488) finished a race was at Le Mans, after which it was retired from racing and donated to the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust collection. It has since been demonstrated at a number of Historic Races and motoring events, including Goodwood and Coventry Motofest, but it has never been run at full race speed again.

The Le Mans' Legend Heads To Auction: 1988 Jaguar XJR-9

24 Hours of Daytona-winning Jaguar XJR-9 will be auctioned off at RM Sotheby's Monaco auction in May 2022. Despite being retired from racing at the end of the 1990 season, the car was later donated to the TWR museum. The museum closed in 2003, but the Jaguar found a new home and was fully restored in 2006, according to the listing. The upcoming auction is expected to fetch between $2 million and $2.5 million.

Sources: MotorAuthority, Turismo-Fandom, SuperCars, JaguarHeritage, Road & Track