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Le Mans Engine In Your Road Car?
A common thread that links the most collectible automobiles is racing lineage. The 24hrs du Le Mans requires 80% full throttle lap after lap covering more than 5,000km in one day. Everything in the car is inclined to catch on fire or melt, and it is a major achievement just to make it to the end. If the engine in your road car was developed from or modified into a Le Mans racer, chances are that you are not likely to blow it up driving to work.
For the last 50 years of the 20th Century, Le Mans racers had at least some commonality to cars you could buy in the showroom. That isn't the case today. Porsche was toying with the idea of offering a road legal 919 Hybrid (Le Mans winner in 2015, 2016 and 2017) but the project only got as far as the concept stage. The 500hp V4 engine won't turn over unless all fluids are pre-warmed, and it takes a team of engineers and a laptop to start one. Not something you can valet park.
Of these 50 races, more than 40 of them have been won with a production based engine; mostly from Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes, Ford and Jaguar. Aston Martin, BMW and Mazda also scored victories with engines related to production powerplants.
The 'Mezger' Porsche engine - which generally refers to a family of engines based on the original 901 air cooled flat 6 - gets the most recognition. I did a video of it below:
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Mercedes-Benz adapted the engine in the sedate 300 Adenauer sedan for racing by canting it 45 degrees on its side and installing fuel injection and a dry sump lubrication system. Placed in the lightweight spaceframe of the 300SL Gullwing, it won just about every long distance race in the early 1950's.
Before Ferrari was a 'lifestyle' company they made racing cars and sold them with production bodies to their wealthy clientele. They have always had a major presence in F1, though the technology transfer to road cars is much less on a car that is designed to last 2 hours, rather than 24.
Sir David Brown bought the Lagonda company, at the same time as Aston Martin, to procure the 2.6L twincam 6 cylinder that was designed by W.O. Bentley. Re-worked by Ted Cutting, the RB6 engine gave Aston a 1-2 finish in the 1959 Le Mans race with Ray Salvadori and Carol Shelby in the winning car.
Ford started the GT40 program with their 289ci V8 (4.7L) but Le Mans victories came with the 302ci (4.9L) and 427ci (7L) variants. Mazda was the first Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans (1991) with their 787B and its shrieking 4-Rotor engine, which was a development of the RX7 Rotary. The Paul Roche BMW V12 actually made more power in the McLaren F1 road car (no air restrictors), than in the LM version which won Le Mans its first time out in 1995.
Up until the mid-1980s, Jaguar had only made two engines and both were multiple Le Mans winners. The famous twin-cam 6 cylinder first ran in 1947 and was in production until 1992. Jaguar won Le Mans with this engine in C-type in 1951 and 1953 and with the D-Type in 1955, 1956 and 1957.
As early as 1954 Jaguar designed a DOHC V12, based on two D-type engines sharing a common crankcase. This design was shelved for a decade, and then re-worked into a SOHC design and fitted to the XJ12 and E-Type Series 3 in the early 1970s. This engine made the XJS dominant in European Touring cars in the late 1970s, and won Le Mans in 1988 and 1990 with the XJR9 and XJR12 LM.
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If you want some Le Mans glory in your personal transportation it can get expensive. A 12 cylinder 250 series Ferrari starts at about $250,000. Just the body shell of a GTE sold on BAT for $45,000 recently. Air-cooled Porsches have shot up in value since 2014, and even the most unloved variant is now $50,000 plus.
Happily for the somewhat brave enthusiast, a V12 powered XJ12 sedan or XJS Coupe can be had for as little as $15k for a driver. Double that gets you one of the nicest.
| Tom Walkinshaw gives the XJS some beans at Mount Panorama Bathhurst Circuit in Australia c1985. |  | |
Production V12s need to cope with all driving conditions as well as meet all the emission control regulations - so the engine bay of an XJS is pretty full. Each of the systems: vacuum for the distributor, fuel, electrical and coolant are relatively complicated, but accessible. Leaks generally require the lowering of the suspension subframe which exposes the bottom of the engine. While servicing is labour intensive, the major components rarely give trouble and the parts are cheap - at least compared to Porsche. If there is one fault it is that the routing of the various wires and hoses isn't as organized as in a period Mercedes for instance, which leaves them more vulnerable to degradation.
I've reconditioned something like 20 air-cooled 911 Porsches by comparison, and they all seem to cost $20,000. 928's are even worse. They all leak, and many need clutch or gearbox work. They tend to get driven hard and many have left the road unintentionally - usually going backwards. $10k to $15k is a sensible budget to 'do everything' to an XJS, which seems reasonable given the comfort and performance they offer.
They made over 115,000 XJS and many have led easy lives. Properly serviced, they are one of the classic car bargains in my opinion. Smooth, silent and luxurious with a V12 engine that won Le Mans - for less than $30,000.
In this heated market for all cars, it is nice to come across something which can be considered a bargain.
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| 1986 JAGUAR XJ-SC CABRIOLET | |
"One of the few Classic Car Bargains in today's heated market: 2 owner Western Canadian car, fully serviced"
Antelope Metallic (AFM) on Doeskin Leather, bought new in Winnipeg, 2 owners, 92k mileage. $11k+ in recent bills including engine-out major service ($8.5k), new V-rated Vredestein Sprint Tires ($1,800), plus cosmetics. Now everything works and nothing leaks!
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2010 Porsche 991.1 Turbo PDK
Over $200k MSRP, Aerokit, Centrelock wheels, contrast black/red inteior
26,000km
$inquire
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1995 JAGUAR XJ6 (X300)
"Master Jaguar Tech owned with all maintenance up to date"
LWB, BRG on Oatmeal, 175k. Originally sold to the CEO of Petro Canada, well maintained at XJ Auto Service, summer and winter wheel sets. Everything works, nothing leaks.
$7,000
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1961 Land Rover S2A 88" Soft Top
Greensand on Black, Khaki canvas 'tilt', restoration to 'concours' standards. Substantial amount of NOS parts, with every mechanical component completely rebuilt.
Final Assembly in Progress.
$CDN 100,000
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