Hoots Mans. Ecurie Ecosse channels the spirit of Jaguar’s never-to-be XJ13 ‘Le Mans: racer with limited edition LM69.
Scottish racing team Ecurie Ecosse, under the stewardship of Jaguar XJ13 expert Neville Swales, has announced it will build a limited run of a new, road-legal model called the LM69.
But don’t go assuming that this is yet another four-figure-bhp electric hypercar, because in fact the LM69 is a homage to the 1966 Jaguar XJ13, the stillborn Le Mans racer designed to repeat the success Jaguar had enjoyed in said 24-hour race a decade earlier with the D-type. Unfortunately the XJ13 would never see competition, but its legacy stands – and now more acutely than ever upon the reveal of the Ecurie Ecosse LM69.
Rather than being an exact replica, the LM69 is instead based on a theoretical version of a Jaguar XJ13 had it been in competition at the 1969 Le Mans 24 Hours, fighting it out against icons such as the Ferrari 312P, Porsche 917 and Ford GT40. As a result, the model is built to a broad 1969 technical specification, with what Ecurie Ecosse calls period aero elements, such as the broad rear wing and nose-mounted canards.
Project leader Swales is the man also responsible for Building the Legend, which created an exact replica of the Jaguar XJ13, along with three subsequent models. The quandary of making sure the LM69 stops short of getting too close to the original has been the driving force behind the need for the narrative connecting the car to 1969 and thus avoiding Jaguar itself getting too disgruntled with the resulting reproductions.
The LM69 is powered by a near-exact reproduction of the 5.3-litre V12 engine found in the original XJ13. Although this specific iteration of V12 never made series production, Jaguar’s V12 engine that followed in subsequent road cars such as the E-type and XJ was loosely based on the same design. The engine in the LM69 will also be available in bored and stroked 7.3-litre form.
The quad-cam V12 (the road engine was single-cam) features mechanical fuel injection and a distributor, although Ecurie Ecosse maintains that while the engine is obviously a design from a bygone era, modern technology has taken over where required to avoid pointless restriction or inefficiency.
The LM69’s exterior livery and interior trimming are configurable dependant on the owner’s wishes. The first example – the car you can see pictured here – wears the iconic Scottish Racing Blue livery of Ecurie Ecosse.
The car will be built in the West Midlands, with production limited at 25 units. Prices will vary based on final specifications, but a cost of between £800,000 and Elmillion before taxes is estimated.
Ecurie Ecosse also intends on making this reproduction road legal, but it remains to be seen whether the model will pass homologation, finally bringing the XJ13 legend to life, in one way or another.
Above: only 25 LM69s will be produced, in keeping with the 1969 FIA homologation requirements
