1993 JaguarSport XJR-S 6.0-Litre Coupé Celebration Le Mans - Ex-Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust

From the 1960s onwards it became normal practice for a motor manufacturer planning to introduce a sporting version of their latest saloon, to recruit a current or recently successful racing driver and persuade them to lend their identity to the latest model and quietly suggest that their skill on the circuit had directly influenced the new model’s performance and handling. Realistically, it was just a marketing exercise and (with the exception of John Cooper and Ayrton Senna with the NSX) those named drivers had no real influence on the car. It all started with the legendary Caroll Shelby of course and Ford still use his name on specially engineered Mustangs today. Arguably the closest the British ever got to our own Shelby Mustang was the XJR-S. A unique partnership between Tom Walkinshaw and Jaguar, it lasted a decade and was perhaps the last of its kind.

The 1984 European Touring Car Championship win by Tom Walkinshaw behind the wheel of a Jaguar XJ-S started it all. During this time, Walkinshaw was also producing body and suspension kits for the XJ-S at his JaguarSport company, offering significant improvements over the standard XJ-S - leading to the factory authorising an official model incorporating TWR upgrades: the XJR-S. Owned 50/50 by Jaguar and TWR, JaguarSport released a special version of the XJR-S in 1988 which featured the 5.3-litre V12 engine, a unique body kit, alloy wheels and suspension and handling improvements.

JaguarSport would produce 100 of these new XJR-S Celebration Le Mans models to commemorate Jaguar's win at the Le Mans 24-Hour race in 1988. The 100 Celebration models would be sold exclusively in the UK, while an extra 226 XJR-S models were produced up to 1989 with the 5.3-litre engine. From September 1989, the XJR-S was offered with an upgraded 6-litre V12 (from the late XJ-S) with engine management by Zytek. The new XJR-S remained in production until 1993 with a total of 787 coupés and 50 convertibles finding homes.

Enthusiasts were attracted by the performance and retail savings over the equivalent Aston Martins of the day, however such was the refinement and general practicality of the XJR-S that they were regularly used on wintery days and racked up high mileages on long motorway journeys when the Aston would have remained in a heated garage. Consequently, very few have survived, with original examples being rare and low-mileage examples virtually impossible to find in today’s market.

Ordered from new in right-hand drive and finished in Brooklands Green with a Warm Charcoal interior, this fabulous example was originally destined for a Far Eastern client, hence the kilometre odometer, and the service book's first page is stamped Jaguar Cars Ltd, Company Vehicles, Browns Lane, Coventry and dated 28th June 1993. In 1997 it became part of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Collection and was later sold by JD Classics for a substantial sum!

Our enthusiast vendor has generously included a Tom Walkinshaw TWR race suit to commemorate the car's pedigree and the car is presented to auction with a detailed history file, Heritage Certificate, fitted car cover and historic receipts. A fresh service and MOT will be carried out prior to the auction. With 14,172 kilometres or just 8,806 miles from new (at the time of cataloguing) this is a very special car, with an impeccable pedigree and we invite and encourage considered viewing.