Le Mans Yesterday and Today: Jaguar

Roarington's journey to discover the most successful constructors in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans reaches the fourth place in the roll of honor, occupied by Jaguar. The British brand has seven victories in the world's most famous endurance race, a record for English manufacturers. The cars of William Lyons, a sort of English Enzo Ferrari who dabbled in high-performance cars before the war but only created his "Jaguar" after the conflict, are the result of his deep mechanical expertise and his vision in body design. Victory at Le Mans soon became Jaguar's goal, given the success of the new XK-120 in the market. The car was prepared for competition, even though it was rather heavy and bulky. But courage pays off, and in 1951, the XK-120C, with the "C" standing for competition, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Jaguar's first victory at Le Mans came in 1951 with the XK-120C driven by Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead.

This was just the beginning: a new tubular chassis and an aluminum body were developed, resulting in a car weighing just one ton. But there's more: in addition to the engine, now equipped with two twin-choke carburetors, the C-Type, as the car was now called, was the first in the world to feature disc brakes. The C-Type dominated the 1953 edition.

Jaguar repeated its victory in 1953 with the C-Type, which looked similar to the XK120-C but was mechanically advanced. Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton triumphed at Le Mans.

William Lyons realized that starting from this base, Jaguar could become unbeatable, and he asked his technicians to push further. They did so brilliantly, creating an advanced chassis with a central monocoque section to which side members supporting the engine and front suspension were attached. The chassis's rigidity, combined with the lightness of a magnesium alloy body and an aerodynamically innovative yet seductive design, made the Jaguar D-Type a destined winner. It finished second in its debut year, 1954, and was further developed into the "long nose" version, so named due to its elongated and more streamlined design, including the distinctive rear fin on the driver's headrest. These efforts were rewarded with three consecutive victories at Le Mans: 1955, '56, and '57, the first with the official Jaguar team and the next two with cars entered by Ecurie Ecosse.

The Jaguar D-Type is Jaguar's most successful Le Mans car, winning the 24 Hours three times in a row: in 1955 with the official team and in '56 and '57 with Ecurie Ecosse.

These victories greatly boosted the British brand's prestige in both America and Europe. In the 1960s, Jaguar launched two highly successful road models: the E-Type in 1961 and the flagship XJ in 1968. Three years later, in 1971, the 5.3 V12 engine was introduced for the first time. This engine, suitably revised for racing purposes, became the basis for the power unit of the car intended to bring Jaguar back into contention for overall victory at Le Mans. The opportunity for a grand return came with the 1982 rule changes in the World Sportscar Championship, which saw the birth of Group C as the premier class.

Jaguar's return to Le Mans in the 1980s culminated in victory in 1988 with the XJR-9, which defeated the Porsche squad.

Jaguar's program began in 1982 with the XJR-5, initially entered in the IMSA Championship in the USA to be thoroughly tested before tackling the demanding 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tom Walkinshaw's TWR, an English specialist in high-performance cars, was involved in the development. The breakthrough came in 1988 when the Jaguar XJR-9, equipped with a V12 engine with increased displacement to 7 liters and weighing less than 900 kg, defeated the Porsche squad, securing Jaguar's sixth overall victory. Two years later, the evolution of the car, the XJR-12, again won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, marking the seventh and last overall victory for the historic British brand.

Le Mans Yesterday and Today: Jaguar.