Yahoo Autos The Jaguar XJR-9 Won Le Mans Stuck In Fourth Gear
Jaguar's 1988 victory at Le Mans was notable for a number of reasons. It was the brand's first since 1957, and it broke Porsche's seven-year winning streak. The 1988 win also featured one of the coolest sports prototypes of all time, the mighty XJR-9. A car so mighty, huge gearbox trouble in the last half-hour of the race couldn't phase it.
As this Drivetribe video notes, driver Jan Lammers had to keep the XJR-9 in fourth gear for the end of the race as the gearbox mainshaft broke. Had he changed gear, he probably would have destroyed the gearbox, handing the lead, and likely the race, to the Porsche 962 of Hans-Joachim Stuck.
But while being stuck in fourth would hamper a lot of cars, it wasn't enough to stop the Jag. That's thanks to the incredible torque and flexibility of its 7.0-liter V12. The XJR-9 still had plenty of drive off the corners.
You'll learn that, and a hell of a lot more about this remarkable race car in the Drivetribe video below. And you'll be in no doubt that the XJR-9 is one of the all-time greats.
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