This is the 1990 JaguarSport XJR-15, chassis 001-RACE, and not only that, but it’s considered to be the world’s ever full carbon fiber road car, as in the production sequence, it’s believed to be the first XJR-15 production car built. In chassis 001’s racing history as car number 01, driven by Matt Aitken and David Leslie at the Jaguar Intercontinental Challenge, chassis 001-RACE finished 15th at Jaguar Monaco, 7th at Jaguar Spa, and the car did not finish the race at Jaguar Silverstone. The JaguarSport XJR-15 was developed by Scottish racing driver Tom Walkinshaw, founder of Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). His relationship with Jaguar rose after success racing a Jaguar XJ-S in the 1982 European Touring Car Championship. By 1988, the TWR-designed Jaguar XJR-9 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With demand growing for a racing road car, TWR and Jaguar Cars Limited formed JaguarSport in the late 1980s to develop the XJR-15 and XJ220. Initially dubbed ‘XJR-14’, ‘R9-R’, or ‘S3’ internally, the Peter Stevens-designed XJR-15 was based on the Tony Southgate-engineered XJR-9LM. Stevens began with the ex-Win Percy XJR-8 tub, building a Le Mans-style road car per Walkinshaw’s request. Stevens later revised the carbon monocoque for road use, while Jim Router and David Fullerton tuned the chassis. Carbon fiber work was done by Astec Composites and Dove. Andy Morrison served as project manager, with Charlie Bamber and Martin Smith developing the engine under Allan Scott. It was also built to race in the 1991 Jaguar Sport Intercontinental Challenge—held at Monaco, Silverstone, and Spa—with 16 cars entered and two spares prepared. In total, 50 XJR-15s were made, including race cars, LM versions, road cars, and 2 R9R prototypes, each with unique differences. The one-make series featured drivers such as Matt Aitken, Davy Jones, Andy Evans, Bob Wollek, Tiff Needell, Jim Richards, Cor Euser, Masauki Sunada, David Brabham, Armin Hahne, Derek Warwick, David Leslie, Nigel Spiro, John Nielsen, Yojiro Terada, Juan-Manuel Fangio II, Ian Flux, Win Percy, Kenny Acheson, Will Hoy, Pierre Dieudonné, Thierry Tassin, John Watson, and Jeff Allam.
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How many made? 52 total including prototypes.
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Engine: 6.0L Naturally aspirated dry sump V12 450 horsepower
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Debut: 1991 at the Silverstone circuit in the United Kingdom, for a testing day
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Top Speed: ~185mph
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0-60: around 3.3 seconds
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Photo Credit: @charlieb.photography, @ja.autophoto
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Research: @rarecarsonly
1990 JaguarSport XJR-15
31.05.2024
JaguarSport