The 8 best Jaguar racing cars ever

[@vernongoodey5096]

I was lucky enough to be at LeMans in 1987,88,89,90,91 to see and hear the XJR’s nothing can beat those races. I then bought a V12 XJS owned it for over a decade never let me down and once drove it to the Silverstone 1000km race at 135mph on the A34. Happy days

[@couttsy222]

1985 -- Best win at Bathurst EVER! (Apologies to PB and DJ fans and to anyone who cares about the farce Bathurst is these days). The SOUND that XJS made down Conrod was simply beyond belief. I still love the D-Type, though..... Great video -- thanks!

[@saif7507]

I'm sorry but that C-Type at 3:18 is just perfection. Pure Visual Perfection.

[@marcelluscunningham9071]

I just love the xj/xjr lineup. So legendary

[@mreckes9967]

The D Type is my favorite car full stop. When I was a kid that wing behind the drivers head rest was just fantastic.

[@john.brailsford7088]

It is a fin not a wing

[@denniswhite9721]

That nobody sitting in car #2 at Pebble Beach is none other than World Champion Mr. Phil Hill.

[@zanemurcha9742]

The TWR Jags that raced at Bathurst in 1985 have always been a bit of a guilty pleasure car for Aussie racing fans. The were loud and fast and looked great and dominated the race, but staunch to Ford and Holden supporters it is technically sacrilege as it doesn't have V8 engine, it came from Pommy land and didn't have red or blue paint on it's badge. But everyone loves those Jags... So much so that the Bathurst winning XJS Number 10 still remains in Australia to this day.

[@gunsandcommissions]

That XKSS is stunning.

[@john.brailsford7088]

It was a conversion to sell unwanted D Types which could no longer find buyers for track use.

[@gunsandcommissions]

@@john.brailsford7088 Interesting. I appreciate you sharing that.

[@escortjas]

Not a single mention of ANY of the Group44 cars?! Because their 1981 XJS is my favourite. From this list it's the XJR12 for me.

[@paul1978g]

It's a very hard choice between the D Type and the XJR-9. Both have won Le Mans, both are jaw droppingly beautiful, and both make the most glorious ear-splitting bark, howl and crackle when giving it "the beans". Gutwrenching that Jaguar left the motorsport, they might not have won everything, but by golly they made some lovely machines.

[@dhproductions4212]

Its a shame the XJ13 didn't race Le Mans That would've been something special.

[@john.brailsford7088]

The XJ13 was too heavy and wouldn't have been competitive. I was at the last Silverstone tests and also designed a wing for it but the project was cancelled

[@Cigar2]

The only thing missing is Bob Tullius and Group 44 and his XJR-5 racing IMSA in 1980s 600hp V12 that also Raced Le Mans too.

[@crusherbmx]

The XJR-14 did in fact race at Le Mans, 3 times, once as a Mazda and twice as a Porsche, winning twice as a Porsche.

[@larquefausse3623]

The Mazda cars were actually a bit different as their chassis was modified to fit the bigger Judd engine. They were effectively Mazda XJR-14s instead of Jaguar XJR-14s. You're right about the Porsche, though. The chassis used was in fact the same one Teo Fabi used to with 1991 championship. More interestingly, although it didn't race at Le Mans in 1991, that same chassis was used for qualifying and posted the 2nd fastest lap.

[@jackytwickx5330]

I just looove racing history. Keep em coming

[@terrybeechener5992]

spot on.yes,all the others mentioned were first class,but the nine (XJR9) was the greatest.

[@jkolhoff1]

I think the Group 44 XJR5 is as beautiful as any of the other Jaguar sports racers

[@colinporter2919]

Not mentioned here is the XJR-15 which ran in the one Jaguar Intercontinental Challenge.

[@DirtyJaguarRacing]

We came here for the livery inspiration. We stayed for the pure unadulterated glory. Honorable mention to the Group 44 cars that won many races in IMSA back in the 80's.

[@roconnor01]

I'm pleased to say I experienced the awesome power of Group C in it's pomp,in several races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch,with such great drivers as Derek Bell,Hans-Joachim Stuck,Jochen Mass,Martin Brundle,Andy Wallace & Mauro Baldi. I even saw Michael Schumacher make his move into big time racing in the Mercedes Junior Team with co-drivers Karl Wendlinger and Heinz Harold Frentzen in the No 2 Sauber Mercedes C-11 at Silverstone in 1989. Great days !

[@fuzzynutter8344]

Don't forget Jaguar's Le Mans entry in 1993 with the XJ220C was a works outfit, so that was probably the last factory participation before F1. Though we'll gloss over the 1993 Le Mans result....

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

Well, they had one the race ... at some point ...

[@flyingphoenix113]

It's an absolute shame Jaguar hasn't campaigned the F-type beyond a half-hearted GT4 effort. I would have loved to see an F-type in the GT3 or GTE class. Instead, they spent that money on an utterly irrelevant Formula E team which most people don't even know exists. 🤦‍♂️

[@gunsandcommissions]

Jaguar's involvement in Formula-E (as can be said about most major manufacturer's involvement) is a developmental effort as opposed to a racing glory effort.

[@flyingphoenix113]

@@gunsandcommissions, surely not. Formula E is a spec series with little to no technological development except for during sweeping regulation changes (as was recently the case with the shift to 3rd generation cars). That money would have been much better spent in actual R&D rather than any ill-fated engineering gains found from Formula E. Even GT racing has more technological and mechanical advancement (the advantages of which can be restrained by the BOP system).

[@maximumfilms7458]

RIP GTE

[@TheHarshWay]

Formula E needs to be cancelled on grounds of it being lame

[@KUROSHURA]

Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhh it sickens me to see reports and rumors of Jaguar going electric.

[@john.brailsford7088]

Jaguar fire was Feb 1957 long before any E types had been produced.

[@bogthing1]

Last but not least! Them Jags was awesome. No reason we can't have Group C again, none at all.

[@sej8806]

How can you omit the Broadspeed XJ12C? Not the most successful, but four fantastically impressive racing cars. And did I miss the XJ13? I know it never raced, but what a beautiful beast!

[@LPKelly380]

To be fair, Jaguar’s F1 effort was just Ford trying to class it up by using a more upscale brand. I don’t recall Jaguar being involved in the engineering. I don’t think it should count as a failure for them.

[@B-A-L]

The XJR9 and beyond was the reason why I started smoking Silk Cuts and ultimately the reason why I was able to quit smoking literally overnight because they were so mild!

[@minibus9]

awesome video. Hounorable mention to the Jaguars raced in the BTCC or British Saloon Championship in the 60s

[@equalevolution5563]

E-type (LW) & XJR12 for me… racers used to fear the big XJR12’S when they came up to over lap them so much that they stuck to the inside wall at a slower pace while the big CATS over took them on the outside.

[@dawdawes]

Xjr-12 and xjr-9 for me as I remember seeing them race around Brands Hatch

[@ianblakemore4681]

I'm a fan of the lightweights and the Goodwood theme although the hooray Henry's have taken over and it is now very commercial, the Isle of Man TT has gone the same way. You can't beat the sight and sound of the Jaguar lightweights with their rear hanging out and that fine tuned six cylinder exhaust note bellowing out across the track.

[@larquefausse3623]

The XJR-14s actually continued racing in IMSA in 1992 pulling off a couple of more wins over a Toyota Eagle MkIII no less.

[@jockellis]

Oh, come on. The D is the most beautiful racing Jag. I have trouble deciding if the D-Type or Ferrari P4 is the most beautiful is all time. In my mind, my favorite car, Porsche 904, is only third.

[@AlisonCreech]

Love it! Next time, please extend and add XJR-5 or XJR-7. They each were winners and if not for them, Egan wouldn't have okayed TWR's plan... Also, does XJR-15 count? And who can forget the LeMans class-winning (*ahem*) XJ-220!!

[@larquefausse3623]

The XJR-15 racecars only competed in a single-make series so I wouldn't say that they really counted.

[@ashtondimovski7074]

Jeremy Clarkson’s XJS in the India Special is Jaguar’s greatest racing car. If you know, you know.

[@boxy2k8]

I'm a simple man. I see a Group C car in a thumbnail, I watch

[@ralph007silver]

The biggest mistake that Jaguar have made is turning it's back on GT sportscar racing. I have so many favourite Jags it depends on my mood as to which is my favourite. Presently, it is the XJR12

[@davidshepherd7750]

The C-type was the most beautiful of all Jags. EVer.

[@johng9399]

D type all the way!

[@toms5oh]

XJR 9!

[@philipcooper8297]

Silk Cut for Jaguar is just like AMG for Mercedes-Benz. I has to be done!

[@gar4132]

Didn't the XJR-8 win the sports car championship and the group 44 Jags did really well (I don't know a great deal about them).. also, Didn't the Broadspeed XJ12C walk its championship?

[@popinjayjunior7698]

The XJS as a racecar? If you’re scoffing, is it because it’s a heavy GT, or is it because of the fact that you know? You know, it’s a Jaaaaaag, of course it’s perfect for racing.

[@alexgerrits349]

Wouldn't that be pretty much all of them? Jaguar only ever HAD eight race cars.😁😁😁

[@boyfrmnewyork]

Big Cats!

[@agentsmith6247]

Group C❤️

[@LPKelly380]

The video fails to mention why the Jaguar was able to win in ‘55, or why the factory team was disbanded (along with other manufacturer teams) for ‘56 and ‘57. It’s almost like something happened….🤔

[@john.brailsford7088]

D Type had reached the end of its competitive life. At the time of the factory fire in Feb 57 the stock of D Types, which were no longer competitve, were already being converted to XKSSs. 9 were destroyed in the fire. No follow up car until the XJ13 in the early 60s. 1st Vee 12 engine in 63.

[@user-vl8fb1gu6k]

Charles Morgan?

[@Kierenstanden-qz7eu]

What about the XJ220 Lm that won Le Mans and got robbed

[@joshuak4372]

Swap the 12 and the 14.

[@MHassan1986]

If that video was narrated by Jeremy Clarkson, all we would have heard is I like me some Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag.. 🤣🤣

[@robair67]

Sorry, 30 seconds is all I could take of the narrator.

[@wetlandweasel]

Jaguar is way past its sell by date. They have nothing to show for today. It is history and there it will remain.

[@joelimongelli792]

Great video! Goodwood 2023 around the corner! Gtjoey1314

[@neilcam]

While most sportscar manufacturers exhibit the trait, I think Jaguar were/are probably the absolute poster boy for "If we can't win all the time then we're taking our bat and ball and going home!" With that in mind, I tend to downgrade their achievements since after the D-type just out of the same spite that they show when they can't win.