While Europe has its Le Mans 24 Hours and many other second-rate endurance races, in the United States we’re boasting with the 24 Hours of Daytona. From 1962 to the present day, the Daytona Beach-bound event was the scene of a lot of racing rumpus.
To put things into perspective, 52 years equals 1,248 hours of racing, so there’s plenty of cars, drivers and moments to choose from. Although I’m very fond of the 1950s Jaguar C-Type and D-Type Le Mans race cars, I can’t argue about how important the 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 is for the world of endurance racing.
Only two purpose-built Jaguar XJR-9s were made at IMSA specification for racing, and good golly, the sole remaining original XJR-9 will go under the hammer at RM Auctions Amelia Island event in March.
Chassis #388 enjoyed great racing success, culminating with a win at the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona
The green-white-red livery with sponsorship from Castrol and TWR Engineering isn’t half bad, but just look at that enormous rear wing! If that surf board keeping the rear axle glued to the ground at high speed doesn’t float your boat, the 893 kg (1,968 lbs) weight and 7-liter V12 might interest you more.
After all, 690 hp and a 229 mph (368 km/h) top speed aren’t too shabby even by today’s top tier motorsport standards. RM Auctions is estimating this racer will sell for the better part of $3 million, but considering its racing pedigree and historical importance, we're expecting the highest bid to hit $4 mil.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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