Have we had the chassis number for that one?

Looks brilliant in black it must be said. Justin was really giving it some as well.

Went to Cholmondeley last year actually, really good event. Like a smaller, less corporate GFoS. There was an XJR-15 there as well that I think the Law's brought (was parked next to the Martini XJ220). Didn't get the # of that one either because they weren't around to ask.

 

The black car is chassis #023. The car was said to have been built as a race car and then converted to road spec. However, this is what should have happened to all of the road cars in theory. This was the loophole exploited to get around the type approval regulations. If the cars were supplied as race cars and then converted to road spec, it allowed the owner to do a personal registration.
I will check to see if I have the chassis number of the other car you referred to.
As you say, Justin was giving it some, but the performance of the XJR- 15 in his hands was really excellent. The comparison with the XJ220 puts the XJR-15 into perspective. The XJ220 in race spec was driven by Justin, as of course was the XJR-15 on the same day, so the comparison is a good one. If you take into account that the XJ220 was putting out 680 bhp in race spec, that is about 525 bhp per ton as opposed to the XJR-15 at about 450 bhp per ton. This would suggest that an XJ220 and a XJR-15, both in road spec would perhaps give similar performance, at least in terms of 0- 60. The extra grunt of the XJ220 would be hard to match past 60 mph when the twin turbo chargers are on song.

 

Again I must extend my thanks for your knowledge and research. Same to Boxer and Steve.

Found an onboard from Cholmondeley. Looks like fun.


And a burnout video, just 'cause.

 

Interesting to see how smooth Justin is driving the XJR-15 vs. the old video of Tiff.

 

Boxer, you make a very good point about the smoothness of Justin’s driving compared with Tiff. There are lots of colourful stories about Tom Walkinshaw’s strategy in relation to the Inter-continental Challenge race series and the $1m prize fund. By way of comparison of the race car and the LM, I can give you an indication of what I am referring to. At 70mph the race car feels as though it is about to flip over backwards. This is not helped by the very sensitive gearing on the rack, it feels quite dangerous. The LM on the other-hand feels really well planted at the same speed. The steering gives good feedback and requires more input than the race car, of course at low speed the lock to lock is also much better on the LM. I know the LM has modifications to the aero dynamics, but I don’t think this explains the additional stability of the LM. Don Law Racing has put a lot of work into the suspension set up on these cars and Justin feels that they can get the car to handle really well. Comparing the ride height of the race car and the LM it is clear that the set up is very different. The front of the race car sits more than an inch higher than the LM. In essence I think the cars in the race series were set up with a ride height that was far too high. Of course this no doubt added to the spectacle of the racing, as well as driving up the costs of repairs for the owners. When I chatted with Matt Aitken he said that the strip down and rebuild after each race was part of the deal, parts used were not and the price for these was astronomical. This of course also meant that any bodywork that was needed was at the cost of the owner/driver. Given the expertise at TWR, which was second to none, I am sure resolving the handling problems would have been a breeze, but perhaps not good business. I understand that the black car driven by Justin was set up and maintained by a couple of ex- F1 mechanics which probably goes some way to explaining the car’s excellent handling, obviously Justin is a fabulous driver, so the overall delivery was really good. If my suggestion of ‘good business’ by TWR is correct, poor old Tiff didn’t stand a chance. Given that the internet was in its infancy when Tiff did his drive, I am sure the spectre of these cars being stigmatised for bad handling did not enter Tom Walkinshaws mind.

 

Some of my pics of SteveO and F16 Tomcats cars. Loved the deep blue on your car F16 Tomcat, it just looked spectacular in the sunshine! I'll have to try and take you up on your offer another time, regards Alan W

 

Interesting, I never knew this. When I bought my car, a basic application of my Mechanical Engineering degree (finally!) showed:
- car needs more positive rake i.e. to be low at the front, high at the back, for aero to work.
- if you don't like the original over-steering characteristics, it's easy to wind this off either adjusting anti-roll bars or changing tire grip. Good idea for road use.

There is nothing fundamentally 'wrong' with handling of these cars, they are just a carbon tub, some wishbones, springs, dampers and tires...weight distribution is spot on...set up is very much up to the owner...or the 'circus promoter' if you are Tom Walkinshaw!

I like the way mine handles now and feel confident power sliding it on the road as the engine is so tractable, something I would never attempt in my XJ220.

But I doubt I will ever drive it quite the way that Justin does!

 

Oops I am getting my XJR15s mixed up, I meant to address SteveO when talking about the deep blue and taking you up on your offer. Hey can you blame me they are all blue and all have TWR in the reg number. A few more pics.

 

No worries Alan, the pictures are great! ;-)

 

SteveO, not to sidetrack but any pictures of the XJ220 or did I miss a thread on it?