Book review: Peter Stevens portrays JaguarSport XJR-15

Before he penned the McLaren F1, Peter Stevens drew the contours of what is maybe the ultimate ‘racecar for the road’, the 1991 JaguarSport XJR-15. Now, Stevens has written down the marvellous history of one of the world’s most obscure supercars.

The JaguarSport XJR-15 book tickled our curiosity, for two reasons. All too often, the ‘racecar for the road’ is just meaningless words, cooked up by a marketing department that couldn’t recognize a race if it happened on their parking lot. Not so with the XJR-15, which was Tom Walkinshaw’s idea to have a Group C TWR-Jaguar homologated for the road.

Infamous tub

The team that was assigned the project, started with the crashed carbon XJR-8 tub from Win Percy’s horrifying accident on the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans, 1988. From this, a new carbon tub was derived, offering more headroom for the roadcar. The engine was Jaguar’s 6-litre V12, the same unit that formed the base for the prototype power units. At 450 hp, it gave only a fraction of the power of the race cars, but that was still enough to propel the XJR-15 to a top speed of 191 mph (307 kph).

JaguarSport

Walkinshaw asked his friend Peter Stevens if he would be interested in designing the TWR supercar. Stevens was the lead designer at Lotus Cars at the time, but was looking for a new challenge. It didn’t take much convincing. Oddly enough, next to the XJR-15 – a JaguarSport – Tom Walkinshaw also took on the production of Jaguar’s own supercar, the XJ220. And Peter Stevens would go on to design Gordon Murray’s McLaren F1.

The early 1990s were peak-supercar years, but also coincided with an economic downturn, which weighed on many a supercar’s business plan. Less were sold than originally envisaged, of the XJR-15, just 52 were made (50 production cars and two prototypes). Of course, that has only made them more valuable now, with the XJR-15 these days habitually breaking the $1 million barrier.

Notes and sketches

That it has taken over 30 years to finally get all the ins and outs of this fascinating project, is remarkable. But then, the XJR-15 has always been the unknown supercar. In this book, Peter Stevens sets matters straight and offers unique insights, along with his personal notes and sketches. Stevens’ passion for the project is still obvious. Central to the story are his love of motorsport, and his portrayal of Tom Walkinshaw – the shortcomings are obvious, the respect for TWR’s accomplishments just as much – and all the material gathered makes for an impressive read.

Intercontinental Challenge

With a big chapter on TWR racing history, it is informative for race fans also. Of course, the XJR-15 became famous when it ran as a one-make cup ahead of three Grand Prix – Great Britain, Monaco and a finale in Belgium – as the Intercontinental Challenge. At stake was a $1 million cash prize. The chapter on those three races is highly entertaining. Stevens also explains the famed ‘Le Mans’ versions, the white whale among the XJR-15s. Next to that, we learn why a last-minute switch to Bridgestone tyres led to a very oversteering car. All the secrets of the XJR-15 are there.

Priced around €175 ($190), this is not a cheap book; but there is no denying its value for money with 240 pages featuring exclusive photo material, sketches and notes, detailing a story that was largely untold until now.

Porterpress.co.uk

Author: Peter Stevens

ISBN: 9781913089665

Publisher: Porter Press

Pages: 240

Price: €175 ($190)