The ex-Bob Tullius 1983 Jaguar XJR-5 is set to light up a series of classic events this year as an extensive refurb to return it to a drivable state nears an end.
Campaigned by the Group 44 equipe in the US IMSA Championship, the XJR-5 was designed by Lee Dykstra incorporating early ground effects technology.
The sports racer has a sheet aluminum monocoque chassis with honeycomb floor section and tubular-reinforced steel bulkheads. Long underfloor aerodynamic venturi tunnels extended from behind the flat-bottomed cockpit area alongside the fully-stressed V12 engine block, curving inwards towards the rear to exit beneath the full-width rear wing.
The bodywork was fashioned from carbon fibre and Kevlar composite and the first 5.3-litre V12-engined prototype was tested at Summit Point in June 1982.
It made its racing debut at Road America, Atlanta in late-August, where Tullius and Bill Adam co-drove to a third-place finish.
The refurbishment of the Jaguar Heritage XJR-5 has involved a complete engine rebuild carried out by Jaguar's powertrain experts at the Whitley Engineering Centre as well as a lot of detailed mechanical work to return the car to a driveable condition. The work has been led by Richard Mason, one of Jaguar Heritage’s Senior Technicians.
