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1985 Jaguar XJR 5-11 Group 44
Foundation of Jaguar’s WSC & IMSA success
Developed by Bob Tullius’s Group 44 team
The last of eleven Jaguar XJR5s ever made
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A hugely important Jaguar as the model that took them back to the Le Mans 24 Hours, and this one could be your ticket to race there too.
The brainchild of legendary racer and Group 44 team owner Bob Tullius, the XJR5 was built initially to contest North America’s premier IMSA GTP championship. With a modern ground effect design by Lee Dykstra and Jaguar’s hearty V12 engine, a third place at its inaugural race late in the 1982 season certainly showed good promise.
Continuously developed over the winter the XJR5s returned in 1983 to take fabulous victories at Road Atlanta, Lime Rock, Mosport and Pocono, with a handful of podium finishes to boot.
1984 continued much in the same way, with an XJR5 coming home third at the fearsome 24 Hours of Daytona and winning in Miami later that February. The biggest news for 1984 however was that Jaguar was to return to Le Mans for the first time since the 1960s.
While Le Mans success proved elusive for the XJR5 it continued to be a regular points scorer, podium finisher and winner in the USA until Jaguar elected to partner fully with Tom Walkinshaw Racing, which had been looking after Jaguar’s WSC-focussed XJR6 project.nd remains immaculately preserved as an un-raced example, which was the feature car at the 1985 Le Mans.
This XJR5 is the very last one built and remains immaculately preserved as an un-raced example, which was the feature car at the 1985 Le Mans.