One to Buy: ex-Le Mans class-winning / Brunei Royal Family 1993 Jaguar XJ220C
/
The return of GT cars to Le Mans during the early 1990s coincided with two of the track’s biggest controversies in years.
Having been the exclusive preserve of out-and-out Sports Prototypes since 1987, 1993 saw GT cars back at the 24 Hour classic with a strong field of 32 production-based works and privateer entries in attendance. Having overturned a four-lap deficit to the class-leading Porsche, it was the TWR-run Jaguar XJ220C that crossed the line at the head of the GT field, finishing 15th overall in the hands of David Coulthard, David Brabham and John Nielsen.
However, although no other GT class entry had been equipped as such, the Jaguar squad had raced under waiver owing to the XJ220C’s lack of catalytic converters. A month later, the team was disqualified on a technicality as Jaguar's appeal (although having been filed correctly with the Le Mans governing body, the ACO) had not arrived on time with the French motorsport authority (the FFSA). Conveniently, Jaguar’s disqualification meant the GT class victory went to a privateer French team…
One year later, further contention centred on the GT class at Le Mans when Porsche won the race outright with a cynically-engineered road-going version of its 962 Prototype which took advantage of the larger fuel tanks and more powerful engines permitted in the GT1 category.
After the 1993 Le Mans 24 Hours, the ‘class-winning’ XJ220C (chassis 002) was sold to Jaguar’s best customer: the Brunei Royal Family. In addition to dozens of regular Jaguars, the Brunei Royals purchased a brace of XJR-15s plus 19 copies of the XJ220, one of which was a unique Pininfarina version with custom body and interior.
More recently, chassis 002 has resided in the foremost collection of Group C and notable Le Mans cars in the UK. It is currently on offer at the Furlonger Specialist Cars showroom in Ashford, Kent, having been registered for road use and undergone a comprehensive mechanical appraisal.
