Vehicle Description
View high resolution photos
https://www.flickr.com/gp/149927902@N02/6yQ98D
Watch the documentary on Bob Tullius and the Group 44 XJ-S story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=larBNcUF1Vs&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0E3PAVJ65Ig7QCFW5wAPaWLeMnCHQmV1wOBG7oUIRJYEbeSregzrlqft4
Winner of the 1978 Trans-Am Category 1 Drivers and Manufacturers
Championship
Campaigned by legend Bob Tullius and his Group 44 team
Mechanically restored by marque-expert Chris Keith-Lucas's CKL
Developments
Presented in its original Quaker State-sponsored livery
Rare purpose-built, tube-frame race car; three owners from new
Documented with FIVA passbook and FIA papers
Includes its original vehicle log book with notes and racing
results
1978 Trans-Am Racing Season Results
May 21st - Sears Point - 9th in class, 18th OA
June 4th - Westwood - 2nd in class, 4th OA
June 11th - Portland - 3rd in class, 7th OA
June 25th - Mont-Tremblant - 1st in class, 5th OA
July 8th - Watkins Glen - 1st in class, 7th OA
August 13th - Brainerd - 1st in class, 5th OA
August 19th - Mosport - 1st in class, 5th OA
September 4th - Road America - 1st in class, 5th OA
October 8th - Laguna Seca - 1st in class, 7th OA
November 5th - Mexico City - 1st in class, 6th OA
1978 Racing Results (other)
November 26th - Daytona Finale - 2nd in class, 9th OA
Bob Tullius - Driver's Championship Winner,
Jaguar - Manufacturer's Championship Winner
The British manufacturer known for the unquestionably-amazing
E-type, Jaguar retired their long-time best seller with the
introduction of the XJ-S in 1975. The luxury grand tourer street
car was met with a lukewarm response due to its more
luxury-oriented design, and the British car maker was determined to
figure out how to increase its sales. The time-tested phrase "Win
on Sunday, sell on Monday" was instituted to provide some racing
pedigree to the XJ-S which started with the Bob Tullius' racing
team, Group 44.
Jaguar approached the Virginia-based Group 44 racing team with the
intention of making the XJ-S a winning machine. The private race
team obliged and Jaguar was paid back in spades, with Bob Tullius
and the XJ-S race car winning the Driver's Championship in Trans-Am
Category 1 class in 1977. That Trans-Am car began the evolution
from the first XJ-S Trans-Am racer that led to this menacing 1978
championship winner.
1978 yielded a far more hardcore racer, this time this car taking
advantage of the silhouette rules. As long as the car looked like a
stock production car, they could generally race. This allowed for
some "creative" mechanical underpinnings and the Jaguar took full
advantage of this. This time, Group 44 used the factory tub which
was an acid-dipped body shell provided by Jaguar, � la what Roger
Penske and Mark Donohue did to their Trans-Am Camaros in the late
60s, saving precious pounds. This inspired combination was combined
with Jaguar's 5.3-liter overhead cam V12 powerplant. Not leaving
anything to chance, instead of fuel injection it received six Weber
carburetors and was significantly modified and tuned to produce
around 580 horsepower, more than twice the road car's 244
horsepower.
Despite being heavier than most of its competition and having less
displacement than its competitors, Bob Tullius and the Jaguar saw
the checkered flag 7 times in a row after the first three rounds,
taking a podium finish in the 2nd and 3rd rounds; tying Mark
Donohue for the most consecutive Trans-Am wins. At Road America he
clinched the driver's championship and, in the season's final round
in Mexico City, he proudly took the manufacturers' title for Jaguar
in the Category 1 class.
After dominating the 1978 season, the car was placed into storage
by Tullius for close to three decades before going to collector
Gary Bartlett in 2007. Bartlett commissioned Chris Keith-Lucas in
England to mechanically restore the car, including a comprehensive
engine rebuild. In March 2009 the XJ-S won the FIVA award at the
Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, and in August 2011 it was
proudly displayed at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in
Monterey at Laguna Seca. Two years following, the Jaguar received
certification for major racing events with an FIA Historic
Technical Password and a FIVA card. In 2013 the car was purchased
by its most recent owner.
The Group 44 Jaguar, in its signature Quaker State Oil green and
white livery, is an iconic and unusual piece of Trans-Am history.
The cosmetic condition of the car is original, evident by its
patina from the track that gives this V12 monster a unique
character. While most of the Trans-Am field were filled with V8s
and flat sixes, Jaguar and Group 44 decided to take a chance on
that V12, turning a luxury car into a race-dominating machine. Who
would have known that a land yacht-based race car would have
trumped a number of manufacturers who normally were uncontested?
The simplicity of the silhouette racer with its thin bodywork,
competent chassis setup and tuning, the gloriously high-revving V12
engine, and of course the talented hands and feet of Bob Tullius
were a winning dominating force that will be known for decades to
come.
