Group 44 1981 Jaguar XJS SCCA Trans-Am/IMSA Racing Car Soundtrack

I am a writer and historian in the classic car auction market and a lifelong Jaguar fanatic. A few years ago, I was thrilled to visit the owner and co-driver of a very special Jaguar racecar that was driven by Bob Tullius of the famed Group 44, Inc. racing team to second overall in the 1981 SCCA Trans-Am racing series. Clearly built in the Group 44 tradition of exceptional quality, detailing, and above all - performance, it is a mighty road racer with massive eye appeal and race-bred Jaguar V-12 power to match. The late Lawton "Lanky" Foushee led the tube-chassis car's construction and development and the end product remains a masterpiece of ingenuity and skill. This car, formally code-named 'XJR-4', is a car that few understand, and many sadly mistake for the Trans Am championship winning cars campaigned by Group 44 in the late 1970s. However, rest assured that it is the real deal.

In fact, this very car exceeded 194 mph on the banking at Daytona during the 1982 24 Hours of Daytona and it carries great history with unbroken ownership. It is numbered XJR-4 and it was also used to test the racing V-12s that would next power the XJR-5 sports prototypes that Group 44 would build for Jaguar and carry the "leaping cat" marque back to world prominence at Le Mans, pointing the way to Jaguar's ultimate return to victory there just a few short years later. For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the glorious V-12 sound (like a Merlin of Hurricane and Spitfire WW II fighter plane fame) of the XJR-4 through those huge sidepipes!