I am glad I kept it and prices do seem to have firmed. When I bought mine it was the most expensive one on the market but also probably in the best condition.

Like most cars in this category, you are normally better off buying the best one you can find, not the cheapest as one with major needs can empty a bank account quickly.

 

You bought ANOTHER one? Wow, If my arithmetic is correct, that makes you the owner of 2 cars, or 4% of total production! Any pictures?

 

SteveO,
When I decided to acquire an XJR 15, there were a few cars about, but unfortunately life is not that simple. Whilst I identified a two or three cars in Japan, the asking prices were very high, which was not helped by the exchange rate. When I discovered the Nr 1 car, I was prepared to pay a premium because of what it was. The risk was whether or not the gearbox would be manageable. Until I get some hours behind the wheel, I just don’t know the answer to that question. My experience to date is that it is not as bad as I was warned, so I am hopeful that it will be fine. Unfortunately in the short time I have owned the car, just over a year, I have become quite attached to it. I don’t want to change the livery and would like to keep it as original as is practicable. I had toyed with the idea of getting a road car and when I recently saw a black car for sale in London, I decided that I would go ahead and make the commitment. Ironically, I purchased the road car in Japan. The exchange rate has improved and I was also able to get the car at my target price. The 20% Vat to pay on importation is a bit stiff, but the landed price is acceptable. I am now eagerly awaiting the arrival, which will be mid to late March. The car is very interesting, having LM body work and it also has an interesting engine management system which gives the ability to adjust the fuel flow. Apparently this extracts more power from the engine. There are also a lot of other differences to standard road cars, including a lot of improvements to heat management. A few pictures..........



There is an additional piece that fits to the front spoiler/splitter, which improves front down force. It has been removed, but will come with the car.

Note the increased height of the rear spoiler and in other pictures it appears to be pitched forward slightly to increase rear down force. The louvers on the rear deck are different, allowing more heat to escape. Note also the louvered vents in the rear screen/engine cover.
Now that I have a road car, I can relax in the sense that if the race car in too much for the road, I can use the road car. I just felt that prices were racing ahead a pace as the little know XJR 15 was starting to attract quite a lot of interest. All being well I want to use the road car as much as possible. My main problem now is having too many cars and I can’t quite bring myself to sell anything.

 

Wait ? Three guys on TS owning a XJR-15 ?!?!?! Just wow !

 

A pretty cool article done by Steve Wakefield about this car!

http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/maga...n=newsletter05

 

Hadn't seen that. Good read.

 

Very interesting and a great buy from the looks of it. Some of the last cars built went to Japan (about 12 of them I think) and were built to LM-spec, which included aero enhancements and a more powerful engine. Some of these had a 7 litre engine I believe - pretty much the same engine as the XJR-9, so good for 650BHP plus, have you checked the spec?
My car had the front splitter when it raced in Historic Group C but I removed it for road use, for obvious reasons!

 

I feel very lucky to be able to have an insight into owning such a rare car. It is car I knew so little about. I think I overlooked a little because I was 15 when it came out and at that time F40 was the only thing that I knew about. But this car was the real deal!
I have always wondered about the durability of Composite after 20-30 years. How does it compare to more conventional chassis materials? Is there a way of protecting or refreshing the composites? Is it something you guys worry about?

 

Thanks for your question. The composite appears to retain is integrity indefinitely, but starts to look a little dull, so some owners have it resin-sealed. I have saved a great deal of money by having no steel / rust to worry about.

 

The carbon fibre / kevlar on mine is in pretty good condition. The visible material can be buffed. and treated with wax. As SteveO says, it can be sealed, and does look really good, but it is prone to scratchs. In terms of the structural material, my car seems to have no problems. I was speaking at length to Don Law, who has excellent knowledge and experience in dealing with this material, and he said that he was able to reconstruct a Group C car that had been badly damaged in a race.
In terms of the body work, the weave shows underneath the paint, but this is both normal and gives and nie effect. I understand that Aston Martin have developed a process for their cars in orfer to eliminate the weave, by effectively coating the carbon fibre with a resin. it would be possible to do something similar on the XJR 15 when repainting one if necessary.