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Revision as of 00:42, 10 December 2006 by Strongriley (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Jaguar XJR-14 is a Sports-prototype racing car introduced for sportscar racing in 1991. It was built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing for Jaguar.
Designed by Ross Brawn during his spell as TWR's Technical Director, the XJR-14 was unveiled in 1991 and made its race debut in the opening race of the 1991 World Sportscar Championship season. The XJR-14 was one of the first Group C prototype to truly take advantage of a clean sheet of paper approach under the 3.5 L regulations. Brawn applied F1 thinking in designing the car, but in more ways than simply design application, he also brought in F1 design methodology. In the past, TWR Jaguars had been designed under the direction of Tony Southgate, while Brawn worked with a design staff.
Although it won the 1991 World Sportscar Championship, the XJR-14 was not a dominant race car, having taken advantage of the points-gaining momentum early in the season. By the end of the 1991 season Peugeot had caught up from a performance standpoint. In 1992, while the XJR-14 had retired with Jaguar's pullout from Group C, it did race in the form of the Mazda MXR-01 and was essentially outclassed by the updated Peugeot 905 and Toyota TS010.
Three XJR-14 chassis were built, chassis #591, 691, and 791. Apart from their career in World Sportscars, chassis 591 and 791 also raced in the IMSA GTP series, and were heavily damaged in accidents in Lime Rock and Road America during the 1992 season. Both were essentially written off and turned into show cars, before being sold to private collectors. Chassis 691 was converted into a TWR-Porsche WSC by Joest Racing and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1996 and 1997. TWR manufacturerd an additional XJR-14 monocoque for the TWR-Porsche project though this chassis took on a Porsche serial number from the start. Chassis 691 resides in the Joest museum in its final double Le Mans winning form of TWR-Porshe WSC.
The Mazda MXR-01 has direct lineage to the XJR-14 and has been described as a "productionized" XJR-14, being built to a budget. It is believed that four or five chassis were manufactured.