1988 Jaguar XJR-9LM

In 1988, Jaguar won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an entry of five XJR-9 cars. The winning car, driven by Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries and Andy Wallace, completed 394 laps and covered a distance of 3313 (5332.79km). This followed Jaguar’s earlier victory at Le Mans when the the winning D-type covered a distance of 2732 miles (4397km) in 1957.

The XJR-9 was manufactured by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) who began racing Jaguars in the European Touring Car Championship. This led to a victory with the the Jaguar XJS that would motivate a new Group C car. TWR partnered with Bob Tullius who had already campaigned several Group C cars under his Group 44 banner in the states. With backing from Jaguar, he had taken the XJR-5 to Le Mans with moderate success. After two attempts, Jaguar turned to the local Tom Walkinshaw for a fresh approach.