Jaguar XJR Race Cars (1982 to 1993)

The Jaguar XJR Race cars were a series of race cars developed by Jaguar and Jaguar-backed teams to race in the World Sportscar Championship (WSC) Group C and the IMSA Camel GTP series between 1983 and 1993. The first car, the Jaguar XJR-5 was developed and built by Group 44 Racing, backed and authorized by Jaguar to race in the IMSA GTP series in the US in 1983. Later, in 1985 Jaguar turned to Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) to develop a car to participate in the WSC Group C with their famous V-12 engine used in many of their production cars. This first car for the European series was known as the XJR-6 and debuted in the middle of the 1985 season. Jaguar continued using different cars for the next seasons of IMSA and the WSC, until 1988, when they decided to use the same car for both championships, having TWR take over both teams. The 1988 XJR-9 was a highly successful race car, winning the WSC Driver and Constructor Championships that year, including the Porsche-dominated Le Mans, which represented Jaguar's first win at the famed 24-hour race since 1957 with the D-Type. After the 1988 success, Jaguar and TWR continued with the project developing the XJR-10, XJR-14, and XJR-17 for the IMSA GTP series; the XJR-11 and XJR-14 for the WSC for the following years; and the XJR-12 which participated in both series. After dropping out of the WSC in 1991 due to instability in the regulations, Jaguar decided to focus on IMSA, from which they also dropped out during the middle of the 1993 season, marking the end for the XJR Race Cars.