Jaguar marks its 75th Anniversary with a return to Le Mans

Jaguar returns to the starting grid at Le Mans this weekend  (June 12) as the stunning XKR GT2 sports car lines up alongside the world's leading endurance racers for the classic 24-hour event. 
As Jaguar celebrates its 75th anniversary of building and racing cars, it is fitting that the British marque returns to competition at the circuit where it earned seven race wins between 1951 and 1990.

Mike O'Driscoll, Managing Director of Jaguar Cars said, "Motorsport has always been important to Jaguar. Our domination of Le Mans in the 1950s was a foundation stone in our history and our success in the late '80s and early '90s reinforced our reputation as one of the great sports car manufacturers."
The XKR GT2 racer competing at Le Mans is being run by Jaguar RSR, and shares many of the basic components and technologies with the road-going XKR. 
Jointly developed by Jaguar's engineering and design groups and the RSR team, the racer features the road car's lightweight aluminum body structure and a tuned version of its 5.0-litre supercharged AJ133 V8 engine developing in excess of 500 hp.
Drivers Marc Goossens, Ryan Dalziel and Paul Gentilozzi will be piloting the car during the punishing 24-hour race, having gained initial experience with the vehicle during the American Le Mans Series events earlier during 2010.