The Jaguar Sport XJR-15 is a two-seater sports car produced by Jaguar Sport, a subsidiary of Jaguar and Tom Walkinshaw Racing between 1990 and 1992. Only 53 were made, each selling for US$960,165. Based mechanically on the Le Mans-winning Jaguar XJR-9, the car had an aerodynamic body designed by Tony Southgate and styled by Peter Stevens, who later went on to style the McLaren F1. The car featured in a 1-make racing series called the Jaguar Intercontinental Challenge, which supported 3 Formula 1 races (Monaco, Silverstone and Spa) in 1991. The $1m prize was won by Armin Hahne. XJR-15 was the World's first fully carbon-fibre road-car.
History
Tom Walkinshaw conceived the concept in 1988, following Jaguar's success at Le Mans, enlisting Peter Stevens to develop a road-going version of the XJR-9, originally designated as R-9R. A number of wealthy racing enthusiasts were keen to own such a car and pressed Walkinshaw into manufacturing a 'road going racer'. Original owners included Derek Warwick, Bob Wollek, Vern Schuppan, Matt Aitken, Andy Evans and the Sultan of Brunei.
In order to adapt the XJR-9 for road use, Stevens made a number of modifications to increase space and improve access. "Taking the race car as a base, we widened the cockpit by 75 mm (3.0 in) and raised the roof by 40 mm (1.6 in) to allow more headroom" he said, when interviewed in 1991. "The scale model was 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."
TWR explicitly developed the XJR-15 as a road-going racing car, in the mould of the Jaguar C and D types, the Ford GT40 and the Ferrari 250 GTO. As such, the car complied with British construction and use regulations and could be registered by the owner for road-use in the UK, although with such a limited production run, the car was never type approved.
The car's production was announced in a press release on November 15, 1990 with an official launch at Silverstone early in 1991. XJR-15 was built by Jaguar Sport in Bloxham Oxfordshire (a subsidiary of TWR) England from 1990 to 1992.
At some point during the production run, TWR produced a limited run of more powerful variants designated XJR-15 LM. These cars are thought to feature a 7.4 litre V12 based on the engine featured in the XJR-9 with a power output upwards of 700 bhp (522 kW; 710 PS). Bodywork alterations include a larger rear wing, an additional front splitter with air vents in the middle and an air intake situated on the roof to help with the larger engine.
Very little is known about the LM variant, though there are photos to suggest that at least five cars were produced (three in dark green, one in white and one in the same blue as the standard car). All of them were sold to buyers in Japan.
info : wikipedia.org
Last edited by Duell; 02-19-2016 at 04:06 AM.
Sorry if I cannot express myself correctly, but I don't know English as good as I want, so my answers will probably be the same in many cases.
yeah i remember seeing jermey clarkson test driving one of these things, said it was the most twitchy and unstable car he had ever driven! hahaha. you could even tell just by watching him nurse it around the top gear test track, even in a straight line the ass wanted to skit out all over the joint.
yeah i remember seeing jermey clarkson test driving one of these things, said it was the most twitchy and unstable car he had ever driven! hahaha. you could even tell just by watching him nurse it around the top gear test track, even in a straight line the ass wanted to skit out all over the joint.
Yeah, I was just going to say that. I watched that episode, I think he was driving some race car variation though. It was white and purple if I'm correct. It's a fine looking machine but it just can't perform is what I've heard.
My Photography: flickr.com/photos/a-m-photo/
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