20 years on: The cat that owned the cream
In 1991, Adam Cooper - then AUTOSPORT's world sportscar correspondent - was invited to take a first look at Jaguar's XJR-14 contender. What he found was a machine that quite literally changed the lives of nearly everyone associated with it
Twenty years ago the Jaguar XJR-14 changed the face of sportscar racing. It was such a leap forward in terms of what a two-seater racing car could be that its legacy can arguably still be seen today in the Audis and Peugeots that will race at Le Mans next month.
The car also helped to define the career of its creator, Ross Brawn. Just a few months after it first appeared he was installed by Tom Walkinshaw at Benetton. And a couple of months after that Tom and Ross head-hunted the sportscar racing rival that they really rated, a certain Michael Schumacher.
Share Or Save This Story
More from Adam Cooper
Krack: Aston Martin F1 team no longer in “no-man’s land”
Gasly rues costly floor damage from Ocon contact in F1 Japanese GP
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Russell: Dirty air is causing F1 helmet turbulence problems
Vasseur: No guarantee that Ferrari F1 tyre issues are resolved
How an F1 underachiever became a Japanese political player
Latest news
Neuville: Nothing is done yet with roughest Acropolis stage to come
WRC Acropolis: Neuville avoids drama to lead after brutal Saturday
Bagnaia "angry" after losing ground to Martin in MotoGP title fight
MotoGP actively seeking second US race but no plans for 2025
Autosport Plus
How Ferrari rode its luck to beat Toyota for Austin WEC spoils
How a recurring strength aided Toyota's WEC Interlagos domination
How Ferdinand Habsburg turned a crash injury into a "blessing"
How Ferrari overcame multiple threats to defend its Le Mans crown
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.