Jaguar XJR-8 | |
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1987 Jaguar XJR-8 at Beaulieu Motor Museum | |
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Jaguar |
Production | 1987 |
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) |
Length | 4,800 mm (189.0 in) |
Width | 2,000 mm (78.7 in) |
Height | 1,100 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 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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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]
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.
Jaguar Racing is the name given to Jaguar's racing interests. It currently competes in Formula E under the name Panasonic Jaguar Racing. It was previously a Formula One constructor that competed in the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2000 to 2004.
Derek Reginald Bell is a British racing driver. In sportscar racing, he won the Le Mans 24 hours five times, the Daytona 24 three times and the World Sportscar Championship twice. He also raced in Formula One for the Ferrari, Wheatcroft, McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams. He has been described by fellow racer Hans-Joachim Stuck as one of the most liked drivers of his generation.
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.
The Jaguar XJR-9 is a sports-prototype race car built by Jaguar for both FIA Group C and IMSA Camel GTP racing, debuting at the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races.
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.
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.
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.
Awards | ||
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Preceded by Williams FW11 | Autosport Racing Car Of The Year 1987 | Succeeded by McLaren MP4/4 |
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Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ownership | BL | Independent | Ford (PAG) | Tata Motors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grand tourer | XJ-S | XJ-S HE | XJS | XK8 / XKR (X100) | XK / XKR (X150) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compact executive car | X-Type (X400) | XE (X760) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Executive car | S-Type (X200-X202-X204-X206) | XF / XFR (X250) | XF (X260) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full-size luxury car | XJ6 S1/S2/S3 | XJ6 (XJ40) | XJ6 (X300) | XJ8 (X308) | XJ8 (X350) | XJ / XJR (X351) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
XJ12 S1/S2/S3 | XJ12 (XJ81) | XJ12 (X305) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sports car | F-Type (X152) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compact SUV | E-Pace | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I-Pace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Crossover SUV | F-Pace (X761) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sports car | XJR-15 | XJ220 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Racing car | XJRs: 8/9/11/12/14/15/17 | C | R1/2/3/4/5 | XKR GT3/GT2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Concept Car |