Great Drive in the Jaguar XJR-15
Discussion
BoxerF50 said:
SteveO220 said:
It's a pleasure to be able to share the car with true enthusiasts.
I had a very enjoyable 1 hour 15 minute run down to Goodwood (62 miles and £50 worth of petrol...or about 9MPG). My car has had a lot of modifications to make it more user-friendly, not least of which - the aircon - provided welcome relief on the way back when the sun was up.
I know of 4 or 5 more cars that are coming to UK roads in the next 12 months so your chances of seeing one will increase considerably...;-)
They are becoming as common as XJ220s around these parts...................I had a very enjoyable 1 hour 15 minute run down to Goodwood (62 miles and £50 worth of petrol...or about 9MPG). My car has had a lot of modifications to make it more user-friendly, not least of which - the aircon - provided welcome relief on the way back when the sun was up.
I know of 4 or 5 more cars that are coming to UK roads in the next 12 months so your chances of seeing one will increase considerably...;-)
As promised...sorry they're late! (May be blocked as Facebook images. Link here to album for outside of work hours! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151398...
Podie said:
What's the significance / reason for the different front bumper / splitter on H15 TWR?
ETA - and the different rear deck vents? (Looks like it has vents in the glass too)
I know the owner is still assessing his car but from what I know of the general history, a few of the final cars were developed to 'LM' spec and exported to Japan. These cars included a 7-litre engine and bodywork modifications to enable them to run in 24 hour racing...including the front splitter, better cooling etc. Of course, with so much turmoil in sportscar racing during this period (and a small recession), these cars were sadly never raced. However, there is a 'happy ending' to the racing story in that TWR developed the Nissan R390 from the XJR-15 and this did race (quite successfully) at Le Mans in 1998, beaten only by the phenomenal Porsche GT1. ETA - and the different rear deck vents? (Looks like it has vents in the glass too)
Edited by Podie on Thursday 20th June 18:22
Here is the in-car footage of from Justin's run. He does seem to have any of the handling issues Tiff has always been so vocal about. Tiff has a very specific driving style. It works well with some cars and makes a hash of others (he made a mess of an early test drive in a 12 C).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC0L7h3gYl4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC0L7h3gYl4
Took advantage of a day off and - inspired by the Jaguar 'Project 7' video - decided to take my own little piece of 'Le Mans history' out for a drive in the sun (XJR-15 chassis number 7, by coincidence). As always, once the V12 was warmed up, the car ran perfectly. Rather than my usual sprint, I went for a fairly slow drive in 2nd and 3rd, as the roads were quiet and I wanted to practice double de-clutching with the dog box. (The 6 speed box was developed for Le Mans, before the chicane was added.) This is the only part of the driving experience I am still getting the hang off. I feel I have, if not mastered, then at least grown accustomed to, the completely out-of-this-world performance and characteristics of the car. But the perfect double de-clutch is not yet a matter of habit. The trick is to keep the revs quite high, which is easy to forget since the engine is so torquey. It's easy to let the revs drop so far when slowing down, that it's impossible to rev-match in the next lower gear. If that happens, it's better to drop a further gear than keep trying. Once the revs are matched, the gear slots in really easily. [Going 'up' is not a problem, since the revs match fairly naturally].
At one point, I did consider fitting a syncromesh, but I'm enjoying acquiring new driving skills so will stubbornly keep at it...it's a very long way from a flappy paddle...and that only adds to the experience in my view.
This one was at Silverstone Classic today - It looks great 
Any news on this or has it passed us by already
Once we have a route lined up I'd be happy to let you know where we'll be passing through if you want to take some photos.
Any news on this or has it passed us by already
SteveO220 said:
McAndy said:
I'd love to be able to nick a swift photo in there! With the obvious risk of exposing the location of some very expensive vehicles, any chance of letting me/us know the route/location? Pretty please? With a carbon fibre cherry on top?
and hurstGT01.Once we have a route lined up I'd be happy to let you know where we'll be passing through if you want to take some photos.
Edited by hurstg01 on Sunday 28th July 13:11
hurstg01 said:
This one was at Silverstone Classic today - It looks great
Any news on this or has it passed us by already
I know the owner pretty well - this is the ex Tiff Needell car, being restored after it was locked in an export dispute for many years. Looks like it is almost finished.Any news on this or has it passed us by already
Took the XJR-15 out for what will probably be its last run of the year yesterday. Between being away for its annual service and far to much business travel over the last three months, the XJR-15 had not seen any proper road time in over 3 months. Despite this it started right up and after letting it warm up slowly, we headed out to find some open road. The first ten minutes behind the wheel were a bit awkward as we got acclimated. After that it all fell back into place and we had a good hard run. The 6 liter V12 is such an impressive engine with a great soundtrack. Power band starts as soon as you touch the gas pedal and it pulls hard right up to the redline. While not the easiest car to drive, the XJR-15 is hugely rewarding if you put in the effort to learn how. It doesn't get much better or more hardcore.
It's been a while since we heard anything on here - here's one for sale -
http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068...
http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068...
hurstg01 said:
It's been a while since we heard anything on here - here's one for sale -
http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068...
Thanks for pointing that out. If I was in the market, I would give that a serious look.http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1068...
SteveO220 said:
Took advantage of a day off and - inspired by the Jaguar 'Project 7' video - decided to take my own little piece of 'Le Mans history' out for a drive in the sun (XJR-15 chassis number 7, by coincidence). As always, once the V12 was warmed up, the car ran perfectly. Rather than my usual sprint, I went for a fairly slow drive in 2nd and 3rd, as the roads were quiet and I wanted to practice double de-clutching with the dog box. (The 6 speed box was developed for Le Mans, before the chicane was added.) This is the only part of the driving experience I am still getting the hang off. I feel I have, if not mastered, then at least grown accustomed to, the completely out-of-this-world performance and characteristics of the car. But the perfect double de-clutch is not yet a matter of habit. The trick is to keep the revs quite high, which is easy to forget since the engine is so torquey. It's easy to let the revs drop so far when slowing down, that it's impossible to rev-match in the next lower gear. If that happens, it's better to drop a further gear than keep trying. Once the revs are matched, the gear slots in really easily. [Going 'up' is not a problem, since the revs match fairly naturally].
At one point, I did consider fitting a syncromesh, but I'm enjoying acquiring new driving skills so will stubbornly keep at it...it's a very long way from a flappy paddle...and that only adds to the experience in my view.
Russ
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