After 1985 Jaguar XJR6 chassis number 285 was finished racing, it was sold to famed collector Campbell McLaren. In 1999, the car was sold by Bonhams to a man named David Coplowe, who used the car to participate in the Silverstone Historic Meeting and other similar events for a few years before being sold to John Pearson Jr. Pearson took the car to the 2007 Silverstone Classic, where the drivers celebrated the 25th anniversary of Group C racing.
Finally, it was sold to the current, unnamed owner and hardcore Group C enthusiast who had been attempting to buy the car for years. In fact, the current owner tried to buy the car directly from Tom Walkinshaw Racing in the late 1980s, but it wouldn’t acquire it until well into the 2000s.
Classic Look
This 1985 Jaguar XJR6 World Endurance Championship Group C Racing Coupe was one of just two team cars to wear the sponsorship colors of the automaker with the familiar British Racing Green. It is powered by a 6.5-liter V12 and features all of the same race-ready components that would have been found in or on a Group C endurance race car in the mid-to-late 1980s. In short, this car looks, sounds and performs just as it would have in 1985, so while it is not something that a collector could drive on public roads, this Jag would steal the show at any classic race car meeting or Concours event.
Of course, adding a piece of Jaguar racing history won’t come cheap, as Bonhams expects this XJR6 to sell for somewhere between $2,900,000 and $3,600,000 when it is sold on the first day of December 2018.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
