Jaguar XJ220-C Le Mans car for sale

A legend of the 24 in its own right, even if it never reached the finish line

The 1990s was a particularly special time in Le Mans history. Not only did it witness the transition from last-of-the-line Group C monsters to GT1 homologation specials to streamline prototypes, it was also a golden era of manufacturers using the 24-hour race to prove the worth of their latest supercars in the lower ranks. Skip past the prototypes and you’ll find Bugatti EB110s, Honda NSXs, Ferrari F40s and, of course, the mighty McLaren F1s. So close were these cars to their road-going counterparts that you’ve likely heard Gordon Murray regretted not driving an F1 to its first Le Mans in 1995 - which it won.

Jaguar almost had the same fairy tale Le Mans win with the XJ220 on its debut at the 1993 race, although there were a couple of key differences: one, it won its class rather than taking outright victory as the F1 did, and two, it was disqualified a month after crossing the line. Utterly heartbreaking for drivers John Neilsen, David Brabham and David Coulthard, especially as the car was thrown out under dubious circumstances. The three TWR-run XJ220-Cs were entered under appeal after scrutineers raised concerns with their lack of catalytic converters, which were standard fit on the road cars. Although cats weren’t fitted to any other car on grid, the Jags were deemed illegal when the appeal was upheld post-race and the trio of XJ220-Cs were thrown out.

What’s especially sad is that the XJ220 has all but been wiped from the Le Mans history books. A pair of XJ220-Cs returned to Le Mans in 1995, but by then the competition had caught up and the McLaren F1 had arrived on the scene. The three LM-spec chassis (plus a spare for the 1993 Le Mans race) were sold to private collectors shortly after, with the Brunei Royal family purchasing the number 50 car that won (albeit briefly) in ’93. It came up for auction recently, while the spare chassis is often bought out for demo runs at events. Little is known about the 51 car, but we do know where the 52 is - and that’s right here on PH.

Well, it’s actually in the Netherlands at the time of writing, but if a Le Mans-spec Jaguar XJ220 isn’t a good enough reason to go through the rigmarole of bringing it back to its homeland, we don’t know what is. Admittedly, chassis 003 didn’t have the smoothest run on its Le Mans debut, crashing out from second in class due to a catastrophic tyre failure on the Mulsanne. It'd be one of two chassis to return to La Sarthe in private hands for 1995, only to once again leave empty-handed after an engine failure.

In another stroke of bad luck, the car was involved in another shunt while in the custody of an ‘active member’ of the Japanese Jaguar Owners Club. It would, however, prove to be a blessing in disguise. The damaged chassis was sent to famed XJ220 specialists Don Law Racing for repairs to the tune of £200,000 (so says the seller) plus the restoration of its stunning original Le Mans livery (from its first, mildly more successful outing) - complete with the iconic ‘90s category stickers on the roof. Perfection.

Better still, the seller is upfront with the price: €1,295,000 - or roughly £1,100,000. You’ll likely need to factor in import fees at the very least, and then there’s the cost of transporting it back across the channel (can’t be read registered with no cats after all!). But what a fantastic - and highly underrated - piece of Le Mans history you’ll own once all the paperwork’s been filled out. And what better way to kick things off than by taking it back to La Sarthe for next year’s Le Mans Classic? It’ll be 30 years since its last race, after all…

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HardMiles

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87 months