Editing Jaguar XJS (section)

===Tom Walkinshaw Racing===
British Leyland had approached [[Tom Walkinshaw]]'s [[Tom Walkinshaw Racing|TWR]] in 1981 with the goal of identifying the BL car which would be best suited to race under [[FIA]]'s new, [[Group A]] [[Touring car racing|touring car]] rules in the [[European Touring Car Championship]].<ref name=AS82p43>{{cite magazine | magazine = [[Autosport]] | date = March 11, 1982 | title = Return of the Cat | first = Matthew | last = Carter | page = 43 | publisher = Haymarket Publishing | volume = 86 | issue = 10}}</ref> Walkinshaw hit upon the XJS, rather than the [[Rover SD1|Rover 3500]] that BL wanted to use, as its double wishbone suspension would allow it to fit the widest possible wheels under the Group A regulations. British Leyland was still smarting from the failure of the [[Jaguar XJ#XJ12-C|XJC racing programme]] in 1977 and opted not to provide factory backing for the new effort.<ref name=AS82p43/> TWR moved forward with the project, depending on outside sponsors like [[Akai]] and [[Motul (company)|Motul]] instead, although Jaguar did provide some engineering support.<ref name=AS82p43/>

The XJS won its first race that season when Walkinshaw and Chuck Nicholson won the XIV Grand Prix Brno, the cars simply proving too fast for their rival [[BMW 5 Series (E12)|BMW 530/530i]] and [[Alfa Romeo Alfetta#GTV6|Alfa Romeo GTV6]] opposition with Walkinshaw qualifying 5.37 seconds faster than anyone else on the 10.925&nbsp;km (6.789&nbsp;mi) [[Masaryk Circuit|Brno Circuit]]. After more victories for the team's Jaguars in 1983 (including lapping the 20.81&nbsp;km (12.93&nbsp;mi) [[Nürburgring|Nürburgring Nordschleife]] circuit in 7:56.00), the TWR Jaguars were the cars to beat in the ETCC, with Walkinshaw claiming the 1984 ETCC Drivers' Championship. During the championship season the TWR Jaguar team also won the prestigious [[Spa 24 Hours]] race with an XJS driven by Walkinshaw, [[Hans Heyer]] and [[Win Percy]], proving not only the speed of the cars but the reliability of the 5.3 litre V12 engine. By 1984 the TWR Jaguars had a new challenger in the ETCC. The turbocharged [[Volvo 200 series|Volvo 240T]] run by [[Eggenberger Motorsport]] arrived on the scene and had the speed to match the V12, though with turbocharging new to touring car racing it took a number of races for reliability to match the cars' speed.

By the end of 1984 the TWR developed V12 engines in the XJS were rated at approximately {{cvt|450|hp|kW}}.

By 1985 the XJS had been retired from European competition and TWR was committed to running the [[Rover V8 engine#3.5 L|3.5L V8]] [[Rover SD1|Rover Vitesse]] in the ETCC. Walkinshaw had been to the [[1984 James Hardie 1000]] at the [[Mount Panorama Circuit]] in [[Bathurst, New South Wales|Bathurst]], [[Australia]], to co-drive a locally developed [[Group C (Australia)|Australian Group C]] XJS with Australian driver [[John Goss (race driver)|John Goss]]. Walkinshaw qualified in provisional 7th place with a 2:16.09 lap of the 6.172&nbsp;km (3.835&nbsp;mi) circuit, recording a top speed of {{Convert|180|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}} on the 2&nbsp;km long Conrod Straight, with the promise of more to come in the "Hardies Heroes" Top 10 runoff through the use of special tyres. However, the tyres failed to arrive at the circuit in time and Walkinshaw eventually qualified 10th having to use front wheels on the car as no suitable rubber was available. Clutch failure saw the car fail to get off the start line and a helpless Walkinshaw was hit from behind by a [[Second-generation Chevrolet Camaro#1979|Chevrolet Camaro Z28]], causing the car's instant retirement and the race's first ever restart after the track was blocked at the start/finish line.

[[File:John Goss 1985 Bathurst winning Jaguar XJS (14917976168).jpg|thumb|[[John Goss (racing driver)|John Goss]] and [[Armin Hahne]] won the [[1985 James Hardie 1000]] at [[Mount Panorama Circuit|Bathurst]] driving a Jaguar XJ-S]]

The [[Scot]] was determined to come back in 1985 and win the race in the first season of Group A in Australia and in 1985 the three TWR XJS Jaguars were brought out of retirement for the [[1985 James Hardie 1000|James-Hardie 1000]]. The cars were clearly the class of the field, finishing Hardies Heroes in 1st (Walkinshaw/Percy in #8), 2nd ([[Jeff Allam]]/Ron Dickson in #9) and 6th (Goss/[[Armin Hahne]] in #10). This time the cars got off the start line and Walkinshaw and Percy dominated most of the race, only losing the lead to the Goss/Hahne car during pit stops (the Allam/Dickson car went out on lap 3 with engine failure). The drivers of the #10 car, who had to battle a broken seat which was held loosely in place by straps and cable ties for well over 100 laps, sat in second most of the way until a split oil line late in the race cost the Walkinshaw/Percy car 3 laps and any chance of victory. [[1974 Hardie-Ferodo 1000|1974]] [[Bathurst 1000]] winner Goss won his second "Great Race" while Hahne, who had won the Group A category in the 1984 race driving a TWR Rover, maintained his 100% record with his only [[Bathurst 1000]] win. After having the oil line replaced, Walkinshaw resumed in 4th place but easily caught and passed the [[JPS Team BMW]] [[BMW E24|635 CSi]] of [[1985 Australian Touring Car Championship|1985 Australian Touring Car Champion]] [[Jim Richards (racing driver)|Jim Richards]] in the last laps to make it a Jaguar 1–3, with Walkinshaw following Goss across the finish line in a formation finish.

The TWR XJS Jaguars were next seen late in 1986 at the [[Fuji Speedway|Fuji 500]] in Japan in what was meant to be its Group A swansong as it ran out of [[FIA]] homologation in at the end of the year. Against old foes in the BMW 635 CSi and Volvo 240T, as well as newer Group A cars such as the Australian [[Holden VK Commodore|Holden VK Commodore SS Group A V8]] and the turbocharged [[Nissan Skyline DR30 RS]], Walkinshaw qualified the XJS on pole, proving how competitive the car could still be in [[Touring car racing]] (the cars had been entered in the [[1986 Bathurst 1000]] and had undergone testing and development which gave a reported an extra {{Convert|37|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}}, though the car ultimately did not race due to a lack of funding from Jaguar Rover Australia to help with freight costs). The Fuji race saw the Walkinshaw/Percy car lead the race until retiring on lap 6 with no oil pressure after easily holding off the {{Convert|313|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}} Holden Commodore of [[Peter Brock]] on the circuit's 1.5&nbsp;km (0.93&nbsp;mi) main straight, while the Hahne/[[Denny Hulme]]/Walkinshaw car only lasted until half distance before retiring with a broken differential.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FIbco7FMA  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/D2FIbco7FMA |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=1986 Japan Gr.A Inter TEC opening laps (Japanese commentary) |publisher=YouTube.com |date=2008-01-31 |access-date=2017-01-06}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Despite not being eligible for Group A racing in 1987, TWR ran their two Jaguars in the [[Wellington 500|1987 (January) Nissan Mobil 500]] in [[Wellington]], New Zealand under special invitation from the race promoters. Neither car finished with Walkinshaw/Percy suffering diff failure and the Hahne/Hulme car cutting a tyre resulting in a race ending crash after fighting their way into the lead. The cars then raced at [[Pukekohe Park Raceway|Pukekohe]], with Percy/Hahne giving the big cat a second-place finish in its final race behind the [[Perkins Engineering]] [[Holden Commodore VK]] of Australian drivers [[Larry Perkins]] and [[David Parsons (racing driver)|David Parsons]].

TWR built a total of 7 cars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.motorsportretro.com/2019/04/for-sale-group-a-tom-walkinshaw-racing-1984-jaguar-xjs/|author=Seth Reinhardt|title=For Sale: Group A Tom Walkinshaw Racing 1984 Jaguar XJS|work=Motorsport Retro|date=17 April 2019|access-date=24 April 2019}}</ref>