Jaguar XJR-9
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| Jaguar XJR-9 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Jaguar Cars |
| Predecessor | Jaguar XJR-8 |
| Successor | Jaguar XJR-10 Jaguar XJR-11 |
| Class | Race car |
| Body style | Coupé |
| Layout | RMR layout |
| Related | Jaguar XJR-15 |
The Jaguar XJR-9 is a sports-prototype race car built by Jaguar automaker Jaguar for both Group C and IMSA Camel GTP, debuting in at the 1988 24 Hours of Daytona.
An evolution of the design for the XJR-8, the XJR-9 was yet again built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR), and featured a Jaguar 6.0-litre V12. A variant of the XJR-9, the XJR-9LM, would be developed specifically for Le Mans.
In the United States, the Castrol sponsored XJR-9s debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona, with the car successfully taking the overall win. However, throughout the rest of the IMSA Camel GTP season the XJR-9 was unable to gain another win until the final race of the season, meaning the team had to settle for third in the constructor's championship. Over in the World Sportscar Championship, the XJR-9, running Silk Cut sponsorship, met with more success. The XJR-9 was able to take six victories, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, over the eleven race season and clinch another world championship. Jaguar's success at Le Mans marked the first time since 1980 that Porsche had not won Le Mans.
For 1989, the XJR-9 was again campaigned in both IMSA Camel GTP and the World Sportscar Championship. However, the XJR-9 was by now dated, and in IMSA was being repeatedly beaten by Nissan, leaving the XJR-9 with only a single win on the season. This led to Jaguar introducing the XJR-10 midway through the season, which met with slightly better success having two wins on the season and usually placing higher then the XJR-9 it ran with. At the end of the season, Jaguar finished 2nd in the championship.
A similar story occurred in the World Sportscar Championship, with Jaguar not able to score a win at all over the entire season against the likes of Sauber-Mercedes. Again, midway through the season the XJR-11 was developed to replace the XJR-9, although both finished out the season. This disappointment led to Jaguar finishing 4th in the teams championship that season.
Many years after the replacement of the XJR-9, TWR would use leftover chassis for the development of the Jaguar XJR-15 supercar and spec-racer.
[edit] External links
| Jaguar Cars, a subsidiary of Ford since 1989, road and race car timeline, 1980s-present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| Sports car | XJ-S HE | XJS | XK8 / XKR | XK / XKR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact exec | X-Type | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Executive car | S-Type | XF | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full-size | XJ6 Series III | XJ6 (XJ40) | XJ6 | XJ8 / XJR | XJ8 / XJR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| XJ12 Series III | XJ12 | XJ12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supercar | 15 | XJ220 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Racing | XJRs | C | R1/2/3/4/5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ownership | British Leyland | Independent | Ford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
