1982 Jaguar XJR Racing Coupe

Jaguar's momentous victory at Le Mans would evoke memories of the days when the Surbiton-based outfit dominated the French endurance classic. More than a few years of sweat and tears by TWR's team would be poured out until that glorious stretch of 24 hours in 1988. However, a great deal of the sweating and tearing-up had come years before. Little-known, the success of 1988 would be built upon the shoulders of a simply-livered Jag that would make the brand return to the top possible.

It would begin with Bob Tullius and his Group 44 team. Looking after every detail carefully, Tullius' relatively small outfit would earn praise and respect with the racing community. At the time, Group 44 competed in SCCA club and Trans-Am racing. Nonetheless, the team was so well organized it was gaining a good deal of attention.

One of those paying attention would be Mike Dale, one of Jaguar's top executives based in the United States. Sales slipping and with no real sense of itself, Jaguar needed help. Dale believed a rekindling of the successes of the 1950s, which caused the world to take notice after defeating the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari, would be just what was needed to restore the brand in the minds of the public.

It would be a huge leap for Tullius' Group 44, but he would accept the challenge immediately going out and recruiting some key people to make the best of the opportunity. Lee Dykstra, Max Schenkel and Randy Wittine would all work together to create a simple, elegant design, but with a very important detail.

Called the XJR-5, the IMSA prototype would be powered by a 530hp 6.2-liter V12. While the power was respectable and the reliability strong, the team would find the going difficult against 800-horsepower Porsches. Therefore, in order to compete, Schenkel would work with Dykstra to incorporate ground-effects into the design.

The ground-effects would be game changing. While the Porsches could run away on the straights, the XJR-5 would more than make up the loss through the corners. Therefore, the Jaguar would remain competitive at most tracks despite the vast horsepower deficiency. But, while the aerodynamic effect would help to neutralize the disadvantage, Tullius' group would still have to rely on providence to open the door to the podium.

Bearing a simple white and green livery, the Jaguar would have a few moments in which providence would see fit to let it get the better of its competition. Sure enough, at the car's very first race, chassis 001 would manage to outlast a number of other cars and would end up 3rd overall behind a couple of 935s.


Chassis 001's strong showing in debut suggested the Jaguar would be able to compete at each and every race. Unfortunately, teething problems would cause the car to become abandoned and turned into a spare parts source by the end of the 1952 season.

The car would take part in just one more race, the 1983 Laguna Seca 100 Mile. Tullius behind the wheel, the Jaguar would come home in second place to Al Hobert's March.

While the team would continue to fight on and score some top results, including a victories at Road Atlanta, Mosport and Pocono, chassis 001 would be largely forgotten and then put into storage.

Throughout the years hence, chassis 001 has made some appearances at Laguna Seca and even at the 2000 Goodwood Revival where it would be driven by Tullius once more. Not long after the appearance at Goodwood the current owner would acquire the car, just the second owner of the XJR-5.

Jim Busby and Rick Knoop would be given the task of restoring the car to race-ready condition. The engine would be upgraded by Ed Pink Racing Engines. A new clutch, input shaft, battery and Jet-Hot coated headers would be just some of the extra details added with the restoration.

Declared race-ready, XJR-5 is ready to remind the world of its often overlooked place in Jaguar's return to prototype Le Mans success. The first step of Jaguar's return to Le Mans prominence, chassis 001 would be a special buy when it was made available at the 2015 Bonhams' Quail Lodge auction. In the end, the car would garner a sale price of $396,000.

By Jeremy McMullen