Description
By: Paul Parker .
Few motorsport events can compare with the Le Mans 24 Hours for prestige, glamour and engineering excellence. To win this epic race is an achievement for any manufacturer, but to win it seven times, as Jaguar has done, is the stuff of legend. This book celebrates Jaguar's immortal association with Le Mans by describing in unprecedented detail the stories behind the victories — and the disappointments.
It was Jaguar's good fortune to happen upon the new post-war era of motorsport with the magnificent XK120 and its racing successors, the legendary C-types and D-types. Public and press interest in Le Mans during those formative years was intense, and Jaguar's five triumphs in this event — in 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956 and 1957 — more than compensated for Britain's unsuccessful grand prix efforts of the period.
The production Jaguar E-type enjoyed a successful Le Mans debut in 1962, finishing fourth and fifth, but the later attempts with the 'lightweight' versions were scuppered by mechanical fragility. Elsewhere they performed well against Aston Martin, AC Cobra and Ferrari opposition, but a true challenge for outright victory at Le Mans had to wait for another two decades.
Jaguar returned to Le Mans with the American Group 44 V12-engined XJR-5 in 1984 and 1985. Although promising, the car's potential was not fully realised and in 1986 TWR took over the operation with the XJR-6, the first of the cars designed by Tony Southgate, who has contributed a foreword to this book. In 1988, Porsche was finally defeated and Jaguar won its first Le Mans since 1957. Two years later the team did it again — and but for misfortune and unfavourable regulations Jaguar might have won in 1989 and 1991 as well.
In 1993, a TWR XJ220 won the GT class before being disqualified on a technicality, and two years later two private XJ220s made an unsuccessful final appearance.
Paul Parker reports, track tests and photographs historic motor racing for Classic Jaguar World. He has also written for Motor Sport, Classic Cars, Forza and the Daily Telegraph, and is the author of Sixties Motor Racing with Michael Cooper.
