Jaguar XJR-8

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Jaguar XJR-8
1987 Jaguar XJR-8 at Beaulieu Motor Museum.jpg
1987 Jaguar XJR-8 at Beaulieu Motor Museum
Overview
Manufacturer Jaguar
Production1987
Assembly Kidlington, Oxfordshire
Designer Tony Southgate for TWR [1]
Body and chassis
Class Racing car
Body style 2-door Coupé
Layout RMR layout
Related Jaguar XJR sportscars
Powertrain
Engine 7.0 L 60 degree V12
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,780 mm (109.4 in)
Length4,800 mm (189.0 in)
Width2,000 mm (78.7 in)
Height1,100 mm (43.3 in)
Kerb weight 900 kg (1,984 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor Jaguar XJR-6
Successor Jaguar XJR-9

The XJR-8 was a race car built by Jaguar for campaigning in the World Sportscar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of Group C. It was used during the 1987 season.

Jaguar Cars Car marque and former British car company

Jaguar is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars until its operations were fully merged with those of Land Rover to form Jaguar Land Rover on 1 January 2013.

The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.

24 Hours of Le Mans Sports car race held in France

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest active sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. It is considered one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world and has been called the "Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency". The event represents one leg of the Triple Crown of Motorsport; other events being the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix. Unlike fixed distance races where the winner is determined by minimum time, the 24-Hours of Le Mans awards a win to the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours.

Contents

History

In the 1980s racing expert Tom Walkinshaw and designer Tony Southgate, with support from the Jaguar company and a sponsor, Silk Cut, [2] designed a car based on the Jaguar V12 to compete in the ultra-high performance Le Mans Group C class and the North American-based IMSA GT Championship in competition with Porsche and Mercedes. In all, sixty-four changes to the XJR-6 were made to create the XJR-8. Six cars were produced(three plus three converted XJR-6s). [3]

Tom Walkinshaw racecar driver

Tom Walkinshaw was a British racing car driver and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of Gloucester Rugby, and chairman of the team owners organisation for the Aviva Premiership.

Tony Southgate is a British engineer and former racing car designer. He designed many successful cars, including Jaguar's Le Mans-winning XJR-9, and cars for almost every type of circuit racing. He was responsible for the chassis design of Ford's RS200 Group B rally car. Southgate was employed as chief designer or technical director for many Formula One teams for over twenty years. These teams included BRM, Shadow and Arrows. Southgate retired after producing the Audi R8C, which was a major influence in the Bentley Speed 8, which won Le Mans in 2003. He continues to be a regular visitor to current and historic race meetings.

Silk Cut Cigarette brand

Silk Cut is a British brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Gallaher Group, a division of Japan Tobacco. The packaging is characterised by a distinctive stark white packet with the brand name in a purple, blue, red, silver, white or green square.

Performance

Jaguar XJR-8 at the 2009 Goodwood Festival Of Speed JaguarXJR-11.jpg
Jaguar XJR-8 at the 2009 Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The XJR-8 was similar to most of the previous XJR racers with one exception, the engine. Though it was what people believed to be a standard Jaguar V12 the displacement was increased to 7 litres and the power was cranked up to 720 horsepower (540 kW). Maximum speed was once recorded at over 220 mph (350 km/h) on the Mulsanne Straight at Circuit De La Sarthe. [4] Its higher-pitched exhaust sound made it distinguishable from the lion-type roar of Porsche. It first appeared at the 1987 World Sportscar Championship. [5] The XJR-8 won at Silverstone, Nürburgring, and Spa-Francorchamps, [6] as well as taking 2nd place at Fuji. Jaguar won both the driver's title and the overall championship (8 total victories in 10 races) with Porsche and its vaunted 962 finishing 2nd. [7] Three cars were prepared for competition in the international Le Mans, each with a low-drag configuration. Two out of the three cars failed to finish. The surviving car, which was in 2nd place at one point after 18 hours of racing, experienced gearbox trouble and finished 5th.

Mulsanne Straight long straight at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans

The Mulsanne Straight is the name used in English for a formerly 6 km (3.7 mi) long straight of the Circuit de la Sarthe around which the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race takes place. Since 1990, the straight is interrupted by two chicanes, with the last section leading to a sharp corner near the village of Mulsanne.

Circuit de la Sarthe race course in Le Mans

The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. Comprising private, race-specific sections of track in addition to public roads which remain accessible most of the year, its present configuration is 13.626 kilometres (8.467 mi) long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world. Capacity of the race stadium, where the short Bugatti Circuit is situated, is 100,000. The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a motorsport museum located at the main entrance of the venue.

6 Hours of Nürburgring endurance sports car event

The 6 Hours of Nürburgring was an endurance race for sports cars held on the Nürburgring in Germany and organized by the ADAC since 1953.

The XJR-8 raced for one year, that being 1987. In its only year of racing, it won Autosport Racing Car Of the Year. Its design was advanced to produce the XJR-9, which was identical to its predecessor, in the following year. One of the surviving vehicles is on display at the Beaulieu Motor Museum. [8]

<i>Autosport</i> British motorsport magazine

Autosport is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. Established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship, Autosport is recognised as an opinion-forming and enduring journalistic authority in the world of motor racing for almost seventy years.

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Derek Bell (racing driver) racecar driver

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Porsche 962

The Porsche 962 is a sports-prototype racing car built by Porsche as a replacement for the 956 and designed mainly to comply with IMSA's GTP regulations, although it would later compete in the European Group C formula as the 956 had. The 962 was introduced at the end of 1984, from which it quickly became successful through private owners while having a remarkably long-lived career, with some examples still proving competitive into the mid-1990s. The vehicle was later replaced by the Porsche WSC-95.

Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) was a motor racing team and engineering firm founded in 1976, in Kidlington, near Oxford, England by touring car racer Tom Walkinshaw.

Jaguar XJR-9

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The 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 59th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 22 and 23 June 1991. It was also the fourth round of the 1991 FIA Sportscar World Championship season.

Joest Racing is a sports car racing team that was established in 1978 by former Porsche works racer Reinhold Joest. The headquarters are in Wald-Michelbach, Germany. The team currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as Mazda Team Joest under a works contract with Mazda.

Jaguar XJR-14

The Jaguar XJR-14 is a sports-prototype racing car introduced for the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season. It was designed by Ross Brawn and John Piper, and was built and run by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), on behalf of Jaguar Cars.

1992 World Sportscar Championship

The 1992 Sportscar World Championship season was the 40th and final season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1992 FIA Sportscar World Championship, which was contested over a six race series which ran from 26 April to 18 October 1992. The championship was open to Group C Sportscars.

Mazda MXR-01

The Mazda MXR-01 is a Group C sports prototype that was used by Mazda's factory team Mazdaspeed in the 1992 World Sportscar Championship season. It would be the final Mazda entry in sports car racing since the inception of its Le Mans project in 1983.

Jaguar XJR sportscars

The Jaguar XJR sportscars were a series of race cars used by Jaguar-backed teams in both the World Sportscar Championship (WSC) Group C and the IMSA Camel GTP series between 1984 and 1993.

Aston Martin DBR1 type of racing car manufactured by Aston Martin

The Aston Martin DBR1 was a sports racing car built by Aston Martin starting in 1956, intended for the World Sportscar Championship as well as non-championship sportscar races at the time. It is most famous as the victor of the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, Aston Martin's only outright victory at the endurance classic. It is one of only three cars in the 1950s to win both the World Sports Car Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours in the same year. In addition the six World Sports Car Championship victories was a record for any car in the 1950s and remained a record in the championship until surpassed by the Ferrari 250TR. The three consecutive triumphs in 1959 at the Nürburgring, Le Mans and the Tourist Trophy equalled the record set by the Ferrari 250TR with its three consecutive victories at the start of the 1958 season.

Porsche in motorsport Motorsport activities of Porsche


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Porsche WSC-95

The Porsche WSC-95 was a Le Mans Prototype originally built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing. It was modified by Porsche from the original Group C Jaguar XJR-14 from which it derived, and run by Joest Racing. Originally intended to race in the IMSA World Sportscar Championship, the WSC-95 saw very little race action even though it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1996 and 1997 without being acknowledged as a factory supported project. It was later upgraded to the Porsche LMP1-98 before being retired. Only two cars were ever built.

Jaguar XJR-11

The Jaguar XJR-11 was a sports-prototype racing car introduced for the 1989 World Sports Prototype Championship, while its sister car the XJR-10 was introduced to compete in IMSA series races.

Jaguar XJR-12

The Jaguar XJR-12 is a sports-prototype race car built by the Jaguar Cars-backed Tom Walkinshaw Racing team for both Group C and IMSA Camel GTP. The XJR-12 is famous for winning the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

The Jaguar XJR-17 was an IMSA Lights racing car, built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing. Rebuilt from a Jaguar XJR-16 for the IMSA Camel Lights, the XJR-17 never competed in the event due to funding issues and has since only been used in a few minor British events and historic races. It used a modified version of the XJR-16's 3.5-litre V6 engine, stripped of the twin-turbochargers and producing a claimed output of 450 hp, whilst its bodywork was cobbled together using various parts from older Jaguar XJR Sportscars.

Michael Thomas Salmon was a British racing driver from England who competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1962 and 1984. He was also active in the British Saloon Car Championship and the World and European Endurance championships.

Manfred Schurti is a former touring and prototype racing car driver from Liechtenstein mainly known for racing factory-entered Porsches.

References

  1. Melissen, Wouter (23 April 2018). "1987 Jaguar XJR-8 - Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  2. Jaguar Le Mans racer fastest at Goodwood | Autocar
  3. Melissen, Wouter "1987 Jaguar XJR-8" Ultimate Car Page.
  4. Malcevic, Marijan (14 January 2017). "How Powerful it Felt to Drive a Jaguar XJR-8 Back in 1987?". SnapLap. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. "Jaguar XJR-6 to XJR-12 1985 1990". Auto Concept Reviews.
  6. Stucker, Michael. "This Week in Racing History". Motor Sport.
  7. Moore, Jonathan "Speedhunter Spotlight - Jaguar XJR-8"
  8. Knapman, Chris (14 July 2013). "Jaguar XJR8/9 takes Goodwood victory". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
Awards
Preceded by
Williams FW11
Autosport
Racing Car Of The Year

1987
Succeeded by
McLaren MP4/4