A 1988 Jaguar XJR-9 at auction.

The Jaguar XJR-9, winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, will be offered at RM Sotheby's Monaco auction on May 14.

The XJR-9 competed in the top GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) class of the IMSA GT Championship, an era of GTP that spanned the 1980s and was the most competitive in IMSA history, with entries like the Porsche 962 and Nissan NPT-90 alongside Jaguar Iconic machines appeared on the scene.

The 1980s were also good times for the Jaguar racing world, with British automakers competing in both the GTP and similar European Group C endurance racing classes on both sides of the Atlantic; the XJR-9 was the culmination of such efforts;

the Jaguar NPT-90 was the first Jaguar to be entered in the GTP, and the XJR-9 was the first Jaguar to be entered in the GTP.

Jaguar's 1980s endurance racing journey began in 1982 with the XJR-5, developed by Fabcar and Bob Tulles' Group 44 Racing for IMSA competition. Jaguar's ambition to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans led the British team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) to develop the car with Group 44.

The TWR-developed XJR-9 debuted in the 1988 season and famously helped Jaguar win Le Mans for the first time since 1957; powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine, it was the new TWR North, which took over from Group 44 at IMSA that same season. America team, which took over from the Group 44 in the IMSA that season

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Chassis TWR-J12C-388, which is now for sale, raced in IMSA from 1988 to 1990, winning the 24 Hours of Daytona that year at the hands of Davy Jones, Jan Lamaze, and Andy Wallace. The car was retired from racing after the 1990 season and later sent to the TWR Museum. That museum was disbanded in 2003, but the Jaguar found a new home and was fully restored in 2006. At the upcoming auction, it is expected to sell for between $2 million and $2.5 million.