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I do love a bit of a challenge and run a few registries for rare cars so I have started to do some digging.
I feel lucky to have seen two XJR-15 in person: a green car in Scotland and SteveO's car at Brands Hatch this year. I can't help but think that they are a fairly unique car in history that may not be copied to the same extent.
Here is the rough translation (translated online then sense checked a little to read more fluently but it still has some odd parts):
Riding a Jaguar XJR15; and it makes the Ferrari F40 feel comfortable!
This the TWR XJR-15 (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) and is based on the Jaguar XJR9 who won in 1988 and is a super machine tailored to the road version in Le Mans.
By the way, the rear tire is 335/35R18! Twice the width of an ordinary car; far too thick! (laughs)
In the words of the owner,
"If you turn off the warm engine, whether again or not the engine is consuming? Grumpy"
"The seat does not move as it is fixed"
"It is good to have a headset because otherwise you will not hear any talking from the passenger seat."
"Air conditioner does not work."
"The window is because the order of the palm of the hand car is a hell; so hot."
"When you sit down, suffering from somewhere from good Once boarded"
Jaguar is a right-hand drive, but appears to be sitting in the middle when viewed from the outside. Door is thick, surprised open thing is that the "threshold" of the door is about 40-50 centimeters. Now the door was usually open! How good Once you got to do?? Chair is in the 50 centimeter inside!?
I tried to put one foot: crotch torn (laughs). Or try to put in both feet together? Where do good when I got a hand? Hmm, I need solid abs (laughs)
Somehow boarded, start running when the engine sound is amazing. Noisy than Pachinkoya (laughs) Even I do not know what you're talking about in the next If you do not raise a loud voice.
It rattles every time you change gear, it is rumbling and terrible sound.
It is hot! There is no window for the passenger seat! In fact, there is also no seat belt in the passenger seat! So, it is kind of the original single-seater! Feet will be in the position, such as stick two people.
F40
To anyone who says the Ferrari F40 is spartan: the Jaguar's more!! It is also narrower than the F40, and painfully hot!
It is so fast that I think that what has moved the moment and stepping lightly on the throttle. Acceleration time is pushed back Innovation ingredients over over!
Overhead is like a spherical surface of the glass, like the helicopter I rode in last year.
...
When I came back from a high-speed, I was exhausted. It was a good experience but so hot.
"Frequently, respectively I bought this!"
When I am in this car, I'm happy. A thank you to the owners.
If I find anything else interesting, I will post it too
This is an interesting post ScottishXJR-15. This is my car, no question. I missed this post as I have been very busy and not had time to do much on the car, or online.
The main job I have been working on is the clutch. The cars were originally fitted with an AP carbon / carbon unit and as I was having problems I thought it just needed adjusting. This still requires removal. When I removed the clutch I found that it was a triple plate sintered unit. I contacted the guy I know at AP who heads up the racing clutch department and he said they only fitted these clutches to the endurance racing cars. The clutch was the original unit fitted so AP rebuilt it for me. I haven't decided yet whether to put the car back together or continue stripping it down, including the engine.
This thread has been quiet for a while, it would be interesting to see what everyone else has been up to.
F16 TomCat, are you, by any chance, willing to measure your LM's engine's power and transmission's gear ratios, for documentational purposes? (and yes, I'd also love at least approximate acceleration times and top speed, but I think that engine's power and gear ratios, accompanied by what's already known about XJR-15s, should be enough to measure these; not to mention that measuring acceleration times and top speed in flesh would be much more of a hassle) I also wonder how different is LM's engine (along with the rest of the powertrain) from XJR-9's.
I'm highly interested in LM's potential, as I feel it may be at least as fast as McLaren F1 (which, as we all know, was the fastest road-going naturally-aspirated car up until recently). I'd try to do all the measurements I'm interested myself, but I'm afraid I'm highly unlikely going to even see any XJR-15 in person, let alone own a LM model. So I have to resort to bothering the only LM owner I know, and that makes me feel far from comfortable. Please let me know if it's OK that I've asked you.
And, the last one for now, a regular XJR-15 with what seems to be stationary headlights:
p.s.: I've seen pages on the internet which list an XJR-15 LM for sale, and, according to their descriptions, it's a LM you currently own. Do you really sell it, or I've stumbled upon outdated pages?
(also, one of such pages lists it as turbocharged)
upd: Found out that XJ220 also uses a 5-speed synchromesh transmission. Is it safe to assume that XJR-15 LM uses XJ220's transmission? If they are the same, then that'd solve the lack of gear ratio data, as XJ220's gear ratios are publicly available even on Wikipedia.
upd2: I've made some calculations in CarTool 2000 using a "theoretical" XJR-15 LM, which is based on XJR-15 with XJR-9's engine and XJ220's transmission. It's top speed is 330 km/h; it can go up to its limit of 391 km/h (which is McLaren F1's peak speed) if the transmission is modified to also have 0.72:1 sixth gear. However, I wouldn't really trust this data, as its 0-to-60 time is, well, less than one and a half seconds. As well as "theoretical" stock XJR-15's, which also somehow managed to get to 320 km/h.
If I remember correctly the Tokai XJR-15 has been restored back to being an original car again but I can't remember where or why it's ringing a bell.
What's the chassis number of the LM Tomcat? Perhaps PM me/keep it to yourself if you don't want it out in the public forum. I've just been keeping a spreadsheet of the cars since about 2010 and would love to add an LM to it.
Reminds me that I need to delve back into the XJR-15 world and update it really, been a good few years since I checked.
If I remember correctly the Tokai XJR-15 has been restored back to being an original car again
Um, I've never heard of that. Where have you got that info from?
Originally Posted by F1GTRUeno
I've just been keeping a spreadsheet of the cars since about 2010
I've seen it, really an impressive work.
(do you, by any chance, have an idea what chassis code the XJR-15 with fixated headlights uses? that one bugs me a lot, as I've only seen such headlights on a replica, but this car seems to be a 100% real deal)
Originally Posted by F1GTRUeno
Reminds me that I need to delve back into the XJR-15 world and update it really, been a good few years since I checked.
Allow me to join.
In other news: Lister Storm also uses a 7.0L V12, but it has a lower compression ratio (10.5:1 versus 12:1 in TWR's variation fr XJR-9) and less power (546hp versus 750hp of XJR-9's engine); however, it uses a Getrag 6-speed manual transmission. Its gear ratios are unknown, but I think I may take that info out of Gran Turismo 2, if its cars' technical data is trustworthy. No idea how that may be helpful, but in case if it may.
Also, Boxer's chassis #050 uses the 5-speed synchromesh transmission like LM models, despite Boxer's XJR-15 being a regular road model. Seems like 6-speed transmissions are exclusive to race-spec models.
upd: I was playing around with XJR-15 from aforementioned GT2 video game and decided to do a max speed test because why not, there's no way to make a more realistic measure without having a real car anyway. I managed to squeeze 340 km/h out of it, which is actually more than both of my calculations from CarTest tool.
"But how!?" - I obliged - "Wikipedia clearly says that the car's top speed is gearing limited to 307 km/h! But here it got beyond that number without even reaching the redline!"
Then, I modified its gear ratios to match these of XJ220 (+ 0.72:1 sixth gear, because the game doesn't let you to reduce the amount of gears). The speed test showed that with XJ220's gearbox the car's top speed would be 282 km/h before going into the redline (at 6500 rpm) and 305 km/h on the maximum rpm possible (at 7000 rpm) on the fifth gear.
Which means that XJR-15's top speed was most likely measured on a model with the 5-speed gearbox.
(as a bonus bit of info: with this modified gearbox, the car managed to reach 333km/h at 6500 rpm on the sixth gear)
upd2: Forgot to say, I'm particularly interested in the fate of this specific car:
Blue road model. Seems to lack a reg plate. The only decal this car has would be "TWR" on the top of its windshield.
upd3: Probably old news, but looks like the orange XJR-15 is indeed a R9R prototype.
By the way, note the "TWR" decal on the windshield. It's 100% identical to the decal on the car I'm interested in.
(could R9R originally be blue?..)
upd4: yes, it really was. http://www.jaguarnews.com/7-5-03.shtml
So let me update the R9R's entry: R9R - prototype, road version, may've used 6-speed gearbox from race version; reg plate "H1TWR"; has originally been blue (supposedly an "XJR Blue" color), then repainted to orange-and-black after it was sold in 2003. (of note is that the 215 mph (346 km/h) top speed actually sounds pretty close to the XJR-15's top speed I've got in GT2; so the "gearing limited" top speed of 307 km/h is actually that of road versions with 5-speed gearboxes)
Um, I've never heard of that. Where have you got that info from?
I may be mis-remembering stuff, I just remember finding a lot out about the Tokai car a while ago and that rings a bell. I'll have to have a proper look into things and get back to you on that one because I haven't noted it down on the spreadsheet at all.
Thanks! I'll try and update it over the next few weeks. I know #028 and a few others need their details changed. The aforementioned Roddy Engineering has restored it and they've done the yellow car from Japan too IIRC, that should be #019. Many cars will have changed hands in Japan or at least the listings will have gone off their classifieds but I've still got a record of where they were for sale back in the day at least.
do you, by any chance, have an idea what chassis code the XJR-15 with fixated headlights uses? that one bugs me a lot, as I've only seen such headlights on a replica, but this car seems to be a 100% real deal
It should be #004
Was for sale at Auto Salon Singen a long time ago which is where the photo you have of it was taken.
I started an XJR-15 thread on Supercars.net when I first started looking into them. I can't remember if it was Sebas (basman007) or Erik (peloton26), both of whom are on here from time to time, who provided the photos that identified that car as #004. Certainly the only car I've seen with those headlights. Sadly Supercars.net has changed since then and the photos have gone. I didn't save them so we'd be hoping either of the two great guys mentioned still have them.
Allow me to join.
Gladly Anyone interested in helping ID the cars and getting as much info about them out as possible is always welcomed.
I know #028 and a few others need their details changed. Jordan Roddy Engineering has restored it and they've done the yellow car from Japan too IIRC, that should be #019.
(<= link keeps disappearing for some reason and only shows up when I edit my post, and I can't fix it)
Speaking of #19, this car has/once had what I consider the best modification (no, I really do, sarcasm not intended) for road legal XJR-15:
Originally Posted by F1GTRUeno
Gladly Anyone interested in helping ID the cars and getting as much info about them out as possible is always welcomed.
So I'd never before thought of typing XJR 15 into twitter and seeing what's on there but a tweet from the search perked my interest.
For whatever reason I can't link to it on here but still, it shows the white LM! It appeared to be in the city of Takasaki albeit I still had no clue what dealership it is. Judging by the floor tiles it's still the same one as the old photo from years ago.
10-12-2016, 05:10 AM
Anyone interested in helping ID the cars and getting as much info about them out as possible is always welcomed. 
