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Rare Street-Legal Jaguar XJR-15 Driven for Less than 1,000 Miles Looks for New Owner

Following Jaguar’s success at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours in 1988 and 1990, some people with deep enough pockets became interested in owning and driving a car as similar as possible to the winning sportscar. This is how the high-performance Jaguar XJR-9 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans became the foundation of a street-legal model that conquered the hearts of many wealthy car enthusiasts.
Road-legal Jaguar XJR-15 16 photos
Photo: RM Sotheby’s
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Tom Walkinshaw, Jaguar’s partner in creating JaguarSport in 1982, assessed demand and decided it was worth building a road-legal Jaguar Le Mans car, settling on a fifty-car production run.

One of the most desirable supercars of its time, the stunning Jaguar XJR-15 introduced in November 1990 is basically a Le Mans racer for the street, and the only car created by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) for use on public roads.

Of the 50 production examples ever built, only 27 were constructed in road-going specification, and one of them is now heading to auction through RM Sotheby's.

The XJR-15 was built with a unique carbon fiber and Kevlar composite and was based on a central monocoque chassis tub akin to that used in the Le Mans-winning XJR-9 but with modified dimensions to allow the sportscar to be licensed and used on public roads.

Also, engineers retained the Jaguar XJR-9 suspension at all four wheels, with the components custom fabricated with double-wishbones for front and rear.

The car in question here is known as the “Japan Study Car” and was used for aerodynamic and other testing purposes. It is powered by an all-aluminum 6-liter V12 engine made to meet Group C specifications for racing and is able to deliver 450 bhp (450 ps). It reaches an astounding top speed of 215 mph (346 kph).

This particular example underwent a thorough restoration to original-specification in 2015, performed by XJR-15 experts Bespoke Motors in Australia. Significant maintenance work has been done in the last four years as well for a mechanical and cosmetical refresh, including a bare-body repaint in factory-correct dark blue.
The entire exterior was then wrapped in clea protective film. Additionally, all fluids have been changed, the air-conditioning system recharged, and new belts, gaskets, and tires have been installed.

This unique Jaguar XJR-15 will go under the hammer with less than 1,000 miles (1600 km) on the clock via RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey Auction, set to take place between August 18-20.
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About the author: Ancuta Iosub
Ancuta Iosub profile photo

After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors.
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