• Winner of the 1990 Portland 300 Kilometres and 1991 2 Hours of West Palm Beach
• Campaigned in 18 rounds of the IMSA GT Championship between 1989 and 1991
• Designed by Tony Southgate and Ross Brawn; built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing
• Raced by Davy Jones, Martin Brundle, Jan Lammers, Raul Boesel, and Price Cobb
• Presented in its period-correct Bud Light livery, as worn at Palm Beach in 1991
• Twin-turbocharged, 3.5-litre V-6 rebuilt by Advanced Engine Research in 2019
• Eligible for a variety of popular historic Group C and endurance racing series

The brilliant Tom Walkinshaw Racing guided the factory Jaguar programme to the greatest endurance racing prize of all by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988. At the same time, motorsport “Triple Crown”-winning engineer Tony Southgate and Ross Brawn recognised that to remain on the front foot during the ferociously competitive Group C era, the big cats needed to leave leviathan V-12s behind in favour of lighter V-6s that aided chassis balance.

The resulting twin-turbocharged V-6-engined XJR-10 divided its time between the World Sportscar Championship, where it appeared in 3.5-litre guise, and the American IMSA GT series for 3,000-cc cars. In the latter, ideally suited to sprint events, the car scored six outright victories plus a further nine top three results. One of three examples built, chassis 589 was responsible for two of those wins and four podiums.

Wearing Castrol colours, chassis 589 debuted in the hands of Price Cobb in the 1989 IMSA season finale at Del Mar, finishing 7th. But it was with Davy Jones at the wheel that the car enjoyed its greatest success. The American won the Portland 300 Kilometres bout in 1990 before steering the XJR-10 to the spoils at West Palm Beach the following year. For 1991, chassis 589 had gained a new Bud Light livery, which it carried through to its final topflight finish at Heartland Park, Kansas in May.

TWR then reportedly split the car, mating the front assembly and chassis with the engine, transmission, and rear suspension from chassis 291, an XJR-16, to form an XJR-17. The Jaguar was sold to British club competitor David Appleby and then to seasoned endurance racer Dieter Bergermann in north-west Germany, who competed in Interserie events and eventually ran the car in spyder form.

Chassis 589 was then purchased in March 2005 by the consignor, a prolific historic racer based in the United Kingdom. Under their care, the Jaguar was restored across 2016 and 2017 (invoices available on file). A twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V-6, as sister XJR-10s used in period, was rebuilt by Advanced Engine Research of Essex in early 2019 at a cost of £34,272 and the 1991 West Palm Beach race-winning Bud Light livery recreated. A report by expert race preparer Moto Historics will be available upon request.

Beautifully presented, this magnificent Group C challenger is eligible for a variety of popular historic race series and would be a welcome attendee at many high-profile demonstrations and events.

Please note this lot has entered the EU on a temporary import bond, which must be cancelled either by exporting the lot outside of the EU on an approved Bill of Lading with supporting customs documentation or by paying the applicable VAT and import duties to have the lot remain in the EU.

Veuillez noter que ce lot est entré dans l'UE sous couvert d'une autorisation d'importation temporaire, qui doit être annulée soit en exportant le lot en dehors de l'UE avec une lettre de débarquement approuvé accompagné des documents douaniers nécessaires, soit en payant la TVA et les droits d'importation applicables pour que le lot reste dans l'UE.

To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/pa25/.