Vehicle Description
Chassis No. 044
Once a dominant force in international endurance racing, in 1988
Jaguar Cars would pair up with Tom Walkinshaw Racing with their
sights set on yet again competing at the famed Le Mans 24 Hours.
Armed with their XJR-9 platform, they were not only successful in
1988, but also again in 1990 with their revised XJR-12. Similar to
the famed Jaguar XKSS which was based on the legendary three-time
LeMans winning D-Type racing car, Jaguar Sport would commission the
development of a road-legal prototype dubbed "R9R" as a road-legal
race car capitalizing on the successful technology developed by the
XJR-9 racing program.
To develop the vision, a crack team was assembled and, along with
Peter Stevens, best known as Chief Designer of the McLaren F1 while
at McLaren Cars, began making modifications to the XJR-9 chassis
design by widening the carbon-monocoque and raising the roof
slightly. The team developed a scale model within a few short
months before the designers shifted to a clay model for the final
form. By the time the prototype was revealed, JaguarSport, with a
number of deposits in hand, announced a limited-run of 50
production cars now called XJR-15. During production, the XJR-15
project stayed true to the edict that Walkinshaw and JaguarSport
had laid out, succeeding in putting a genuine, bona-fide racecar on
the road. Jaguar's new supercar featured, as did the prototype, a
modified carbon fiber tub from the XJR-9, carbon fiber bodywork,
and a lightly detuned version of the 1988 Le Mans winner's V12
engine. With the V12 mounted directly behind the cockpit the XJR-15
even features a necessary pair of radio headsets for the driver and
passenger to communicate while traveling.
One of just 27 vehicles originally constructed in road-legal
specification, chassis number 044 has traveled 722 miles at the
time of cataloging. Originally exported to Germany in 1991, it was
eventually brought back home to the UK in 2008 with just 250 miles
on the odometer. This latest owner would send the vehicle to
renowned experts Don Law Racing who would embark on a six-year
development program which sought to not only recondition, but also
tastefully improve upon what was truly a Le Mans car for the road.
During this recommissioning, this vehicle was refinished in a
gorgeous shade very similar to the factory color of Le Mans Blue
exterior. Following this refreshment, this vehicle was proudly
shown at various European concours including the City of London
Concours in 2017 before being acquired by a collector in Southern
California. According to a detailed service invoice on file, this
owner would send chassis number 044 to J.D Classics with 611 miles
for a complete inspection service which involved removing the
bodywork and engine to fully analyze vehicle systems. Service work
is noted to restore operation of the air-conditioning system, a
detail sure to be appreciated by those fortunate enough to occupy
the Savile Grey leather interior.
With many modern cars claiming to be 'race cars for the street',
this trend of slightly stripped down interiors with increased
horsepower cannot compare to the result of the collaboration
between TWR and JaguarSport. A truly incredible automobile, this
example not only benefits from modest improvements, but also the
incredible design and engineering work carried out by those at
JaguarSport that took a Le Mans winning design and put it on the
street. The childhood dream of any car enthusiast, this is truly a
racing car that can legally be driven on the roads.
