Like its big sister in 1988, the XJR-9 - the winning Jaguar in 1990 - sported the white and crimson colours of a cigarette manufacturer, like the Porsche 956 that won at Le Mans in 1983 and was up for auction in California about 10 days ago. It was actually to put an end to Porsche's dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that, at the initiative of Tom Walkinshow, the British manufactuer decided to return to the scene of its former glory of the 1950s.

Indeed, with no less than five wins in seven editions, Jaguar made its mark with the Type C first of all, a model of which surpassed 13 million dollars at the auction in California, then with the Type D, which boasts the most impressive record in competition of all the Jaguars. In other words, the XJR needed to rise to the occasion.

Though the XJR-9 was up to the challenge, the ephemeral XJR-10 and 11 with V6 Turbo engines proved too fragile to compete in a 24-hour race; which is why Jaguar decided to install a V12 in the new chassis, the XJR-12, and three older chassis for the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990.

That year, the 12-C-190 chassis for sale finally competed at Le Mans. Qualified in seventh position, the driver line-up Davy Jones-Michel Ferté-Elisio Salazar was unfortunately forced to retire late morning after having spent an extended period of time at its pit around dawn due to some brake problems.

In 1990, Le Mans would be the only race for this chassis which was entered without success at the two big Floridian races in 1991. After its last start, at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1993, this Jaguar XJR-12 went on display at a museum before being relinquised to an individual. It is once again on the market, on Taylor & Crawley's website, for an undisclosed amount...

Cécile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

PHOTO: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, JUNE 16-17 1990. The No. 4 Jaguar at the start of pit lane for the test session.