Jaguar’s dominance of the 24 Hours of Lemans during the 1950s was absolute: five victories in seven years culminating with an extraordinary three years in a row from 1955-1957 .

Following the dominance of the hallowed C- and D-Type Jaguars however, the team at Coventry abandoned their racing efforts and left the famous endurance race for three decades.

In the early 1980s, Tom Walkinshaw, a Scottish racecar driver and engineer was making waves in the racing world with his rally prepped Range Rovers.

After one of his tuned Rovers grabbed the crown at the Dakar Rally in 1982, Walkinshaw and his company Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) began a close relationship with British Leyland.

His Jaguar XJS and Rover designs saw immediate success across many British, European, and French touring car championships, which caught the attention of Jaguar chairman John Egan.

Egan was keen on returning the leaping-cat marque to the top of the racing world.

Jaguar and Walkinshaw’s TWR formed a dedicated ...