[Gallery] Jaguar XJR-15s take over Goodwood | GRR
For one of our spectacular Members' Meeting demos this year, we're invoking the spirit of 1991 one-make super sportscar racing, with an eight-figure line-up of incredible howling V12 Jaguar XJR-15s.
Based at its core on the glorious XJR-9, the XJR-15 was a Le Mans refugee in Peter Stevens-designed eveningwear, built in-period mostly for one-make racing. The Jaguar Intercontinental Challenge wound up supporting three F1 races in its day – yes, races that Senna will have been contesting at the time in the incredible McLaren MP4-6 we also have at 78MM.
The series is infamous for its high-stakes prizes, which included two XJR-S road cars and a $1 million winner-takes-all prize come the end of the round at Spa. Yes, $1 million in 1991 – nothing to be sniffed at. Owners consequently wanted hotshoes in their cars out fighting for wins and there are even whispers of hush-hush handshake deals to share winnings... The grid wound up containing the likes of David Brabham, Tiff Needell, Juan Manuel Fangio II, Derek Warwick and many more top names at the time.
The XJR-15 lead something of a derided existence in the years following, with few seeing much point in a supercar that was more expensive and less powerful than most rivals and quite often, not homologated for road use. Today, we reckon it looks and sounds incredible, especially when seen and heard in numbers.
Photography by Joe Harding.