Limited production of 25 – The Ecurie LM69

A road legal race car, two years in the making and inspired by the Jaguar XJ13 prototype, a car that was designed to originally race at Le Mans 24 Hours.

It’s a question that has dominated the history of the XJ13, a prototype built by Jaguar in 1966 in a quest to continue the marque’s legendary run of success in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Powered by a new quad-cam, 5 litre V12, the XJ13 was Jaguar’s first mid engined car.

Sadly, it remained unraced. A combination of internal politics and a change in sporting regulations meant that it was banished to a corner of the Competition Department, mothballed and all but forgotten as other projects took priority.

But what if the XJ13 had been developed and raced? What if this car’s immense potential had been realised?

Fifty years on, the Scottish company Ecurie Ecosse answered that question by producing the spectacular LM69. Ecurie Ecosse engaged the UK based Design Q to create a design remaining true in spirit and sympathetic to the style of the fabulous XJ13 and the bodywork has been developed into an all new design that has its own purposeful beauty.

A strict brief was established from the start: the design and engineering team would have to adhere to the regulations of the time, and feature only design details and technology that entered motorsport no later than early 1969.

The quad-cam V12 is the heart of the car, a unique signature that has been designed to evoke the experience of driving at Le Mans in 1969. And not only is the LM69 suitable for track use, it’s fully road legal.

As the XJ13 would have done had it been prepared for serious competition use, the LM69 benefits from innovations that appeared during that exciting era. Composite materials have been used, it’s lighter than the original car, and it boasts experimental aerodynamic devices, wider wheels and tyres, and a much improved engine.

The engine will be available in typical 1960s condition with traditional distributors and mechanical fuel injection, but clients will be offered the option of fully programmable fuel injection & ignition due to the much-improved efficiency and tuneability. The engine is of course normally aspirated, and customers will gain the full visceral experience of a howling V12 race engine inches from the back of their heads. The intention is to offer the engine in two capacities: the “standard” 1966 5.0 – 5.3 litre version, and Neville’s own 7.3 litre version that uses the same basic architecture, but bored and stroked.

Only 25 cars will be produced, in keeping with the 1969 FIA homologation requirements and to maintain its exclusivity. Each one will be individually hand built in the West Midlands by the best British craftsmen in their field.