I have tracked down what appears to be an old picture of my new car and it has the air intake similar to the one in the picture you posted. I am going to see if I can find out more about it. When speaking to Don Law, he suggested that there were only 5 LM cars, so this looks to be a rare find. I have received a lot of pictures from the dealer and there appears to be quite a few changes to the standard road cars. Once I have the car, I will give a good description on here. There is a chance that this will be the only LM in the country as most of the others seem to be in Japan.

 

It is certainly the 1st one I have heard of making its way back to the UK. Will be very interested to here more about it when it lands.

 

I am pretty sure thatthis is my car. I imagine the air intake was removed as it reduces rearward visibility.

 

Photo

 

Thanks for the answers re composite. I am scratching my head trying to figure how these cars are not worth so much more these days.

 

A++++ read, thanks for letting us into the world of buying an amazing supercar! More pics

 

h-bo
You make a good point about values. The issue of value is quite complex. There needs to be a number of factors in place, before a car appreciates significantly. As far as the XJR 15 is concerned it entered the market at a very bad time. Speculators had taken a real beating and had no appetite to engage with the 15. As a result the car drifted beyond rarity and into obscurity, embedded as knowledge only in the minds of the few. Critical market mass was lost as no one stood out as the champion of the model and the cars moved around the world and market cohesion was lost. To further add to the problem, many of the cars were, and are, hidden away in collections. The background to the model is enshrined in a few bad reports through the likes of Clarkson, and these overshadow many positive, if not enthusiastic reports. Another issue is price perspective. As so few cars enter the market, goes without saying when there are only 50 or so spread around the world, that it very difficult to know what they are worth. How do you judge whether a race car, with good history, should be worth more or less than an unknown road car. Then there is the recommissioning, where do you go and what should it cost. I think the tide is changing though. This is a good time for people to acquire one of these as prices have firmed, but they have not taken off as such. Don Law Racing have done a fabulous job in providing all of the market support and infrastructure for the XJ 220 have now put their commitment behind the XJR 15. This includes getting hold of all of the original drawings for the car, researching the supply side for the components and developing improvements for the car. I think they are getting ready to start stocking the cars as well. Don Law’s involvement reduces risk of ownership, will create liquidity in the market and an exit for those that want to sell. Having a market maker such as Don Law behind the cars will result in the market continuing to firm. Once those that are interested in the XJR 15 gain confidence that the money they invest is relatively secure and might even grow, values may move on a pace. Until then they represent good value. It’s odd in some ways. When an F40 was new, it was about £200k with about 1600 being sold, give or take and the XJR 15 was about£500k with about 50 being made. On paper, the XJR 15 wins, but on the road the F40 get all the plaudits. It would be interesting to see how a Don Law modified XJR 15 compares with the F40. However, I would also like to see a like for like comparison. I understand that there is a race version of the F40 which is the one that should be compared with the XJR 15 race car. Most of what I have read and seen is on the XJR race car and the road version get barely a mention. I must say that whilst I don’t want to throw money away, I have really got the bug for this car. It requires, no, demands, driver involvement....fabulous. I also know that on any given day, when I am out in my XJR 15, I am likely to be the only one in the world driving one, how cool is that.

 

When I started looking a couple of years ago, it was quite an anxious time, as I was worried that I would be landing a 'lemon' that would be horrible to drive and hard to sell on, even if it looked relatively 'cheap'. But I could not resist those looks and the racing heritage, so when Boxer acquired and then started writing about his, my confidence increased and it started to seem like a good bet - a risky one, perhaps, but unlikely to be a disaster.
With a few more active owners now, the cars have better support and it appears that the so-called 'demons' are very easy to resolve.
I feel I have been lucky to acquire a car which - to my eyes at least - has many of the qualities of a McLaren F1 (well - a GTR), yet is less than 1/10th of the price.
Either the market will correct itself or not, but either way, this car is a keeper for me, as there really is nothing out there quite like it and nobody will ever make another one.

 

Thanks for your replies. Such an interesting car. I have now spent far too much time finding information about it.

 

Very true, support for the XJR-15s is actually quite good, it is just a question of knowing who to ask. Mechanically they are fairly straight forward so not a major issue to maintain.

In fact over the last several years, the XJR-15 has been much lighter on the wallet than the F40.