JAGUAR RACING LEGENDS TOUR NORTH AMERICA

Two of the fastest Jaguars in history are here in the U.S. in support of the fastest Jaguar on the track right now ‑ the Jaguar RSR XKR GT, writes Tony O'Keeffe, Curator of the Jaguar Heritage collection.

Back in March, we shipped over from our collection, the 1988 Le Mans‑winning XJR9, and the legendary 1966 XJ13, to be on display alongside Paul Gentilozzi's JaguarRSR XKR GT during some of the key races in this season’s American Le Mans Series.

You may have seen the two cars leading the parade laps during the ALMS season opener at the 12 Hours of Sebring last month. Both the XJR9 and the 1963 XJ13 have also made stops at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and at the recent Jaguar Clubs of North America annual meet in Indianapolis. These two jewels of the Jaguar Heritage collection truly symbolize Jaguar's philosophy of creating beautiful, fast cars.

Back in 1988, Jaguar entered at least five XJR9s for that year's Le Mans 24 Hour race, each powered by a Jaguar 7‑liter V12 engine which produced 750 hp. This car, driven by Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace, fought off challenges from a field of Porsche's 962Cs, to take the checkered flag in one of the most thrilling Le Mans finishes ever. Even today, it's still a fabulous car to drive with brutal amounts of horsepower and incredible acceleration.

As for the XJ13 prototype, this is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful race cars of all time; the work of Jaguar’s great aerodynamicist, Malcolm Sayer. It was designed as a potential Le Mans contender, but by the time the first and only car had been completed in 1966, the rules had changed and this mid‑engined 5‑liter V12 supercar with 502 hp was sadly already obsolete.

Its potential, however, was enormous. During testing on the tight, narrow banking at the MIRA test track in the UK, it lapped at an incredible 161 mph, establishing a new lap record in the hands of Jaguar's legendary test driver, Norman Dewis.

In a twist of fate, when Norman took the car back to the MIRA track in 1971 for some filming, a wheel gave way on the banking at 140 mph‑plus, causing the car to flip end over end; amazingly, he walked away unscathed. The car was rebuilt after the accident and restored again in 2006. Today, this unique prototype is running better than ever.

We're still finalizing the appearance schedule for these two legends, but they'll be at the Lime Rock round of the ALMS over the Memorial Day weekend and at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance on June 5 and 6.

Without a doubt, the highlight of their U.S. tour will be an appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August to help celebrate Jaguar’s 75th Anniversary.

To find out more about the XJ13 and XJR9, visit the Jaguar Heritage website.