​Jaguar XJR6-185

The first of just two Jaguar entered, British racing green XJR V12s for the 1985 season.

In 1984, Jaguar was newly privatised and in desperate need of a reputation boost. What better way to put jaguar back on the map than a return to sports car racing?  Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) were a successful but relatively unknown race preparation company who’s association with Jaguar started when they ran an XJS in BTCC. After some touring car success this led to a partnership to develop a works Jaguar prototype for Group C, and therefore the XJR6 was born…

The XJR6 made its highly anticipated racing debut halfway through the 1985 world sportscar championship at the 1000KM of Mosport. TWR had planned to enter previous races on the 1985 WEC calendar however setbacks meant that the cars could only just be finished in time for Mosport. Due to the extremely tight timescale this round was really an extra test session for the team. This 51 car had been subject to a short series of track tests in the week’s prior but was still very much a work in progress. The sister 52 car arrived in Canada without a minute of track time and would undergo initial shakedown in pre race practice and qualifying!

Despite the lack of seat time, Brundle was on the pace from the first practice. He managed to put the 51 car 3rd on the grid, qualifying just a fraction slower than the pole position 962 of Hans Stuck. The start of the race could not have gone better, from the second row Brundle flew past both Porsche 962s to take the lead into the first corner. He held this lead for nine laps but unfortunately the fairy-tale debut win was not to be. The car was forced to retire just 12 laps into the race due to a failed wheel bearing. The number 52 sister car did however go on to take 3rd place which was an incredible achievement on the weekend of its first shakedown.

Although as a test this first race weekend was extremely successful, TWR had a lot to work on to ensure that the cars had the reliability and durability needed for endurance racing. A number of changes were made before the next race including alterations to the nose to counter understeer and new measures to prevent the wheel bearing failure that ended the last race for car 51.

The next round was at Spa where the car took a respectable 5th place however this race was overshadowed by the tragic death of Stefan Bellof in a nasty crash at Eau Rouge.

Brands Hatch was the third race for the XJR6, and the first in front of a home crowd. Alan Jones qualified in 5th position but due to throttle issues causing engine damage the car had to retire after 20 laps.

Following heavy rainfall at Fuji causing all European teams to withdraw before the race, Selangor 800KM would be the last race of the season. After a number of upgrades throughout the season all eyes were on the XJR’s for their final outing. Mike Thackwell qualified well in 4th place and maintained a steady pace throughout the race to finish the season on the second step of the podium.

This car has not raced since Malaysia but the 1985 season certainly provided an invaluable test bed for future V12 XJR models, which famously went on to see great success.

In more recent times XJR6-185 has taken on the famous Goodwood FOS hillclimb as well as taking part in the 2022 Silverstone Classic Group C celebration.