TWR began by modifying BMW 3.0 CSLs before taking on Mazda’s works program in the British Touring Car Championship. Win Percy, driving a TWR-developed RX-7, won the BTCC title in both 1980 and 1981. Following this, TWR prepared the Dakar-winning Range Rover for René Metge in 1982, and then began a relationship with British Leyland, preparing Jaguar XJS and Rover 3500 Vitesse cars for both the BTCC and European Touring Car Championship.
In 1982, TWR began a long and fruitful association with Jaguar, initially entering the Jaguar XJS into the European Touring Car Championship, achieving a number of wins that year. This partnership evolved to include sports car racing, with Jaguar keen to rebuild its international presence after privatisation in 1984. By 1988, TWR-Jaguar had secured its first Le Mans victory with the V12-powered XJR-9, driven by Andy Wallace, Johnny Dumfries and Jan Lammers. Further Le Mans success followed in 1990, with Martin Brundle, John Nielsen and Wendy Ellis taking the win.
The 1990s saw continued success for TWR. The XJR-14, designed by Ross Brawn, secured both the WSCC Drivers' and Teams' championships in 1991. In Australia, Walkinshaw Racing competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship, operating as factory-backed teams under the names Holden Racing Team and HSV Dealer Team. TWR also won the 1985 Bathurst 1000 outright with a Jaguar XJS driven by Armin Hahne and John Goss.
TWR expanded into Formula One, initially as Benetton’s engineering director, contributing to Michael Schumacher’s first World Championship title in 1994. A subsequent move to Ligier led to the purchase of the Arrows team in 1996. Although Arrows achieved a notable near-win at the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix with Damon Hill, financial difficulties plagued the team, ultimately leading to its liquidation in 2002 and the demise of TWR.
Beyond racing, TWR was involved in vehicle engineering, creating heavily modified versions of Jaguar road cars through ‘TWR Sport’ and later ‘Jaguar Sport’. These included the XJR-S and the XJ220, with the XJR-15 being a limited-edition, road-legal version of the Le Mans-winning XJR-9. TWR also designed and engineered the Aston Martin DB7 and the Volvo C70 Coupé.
In 1997, TWR assisted Kenny Roberts in developing an engine for his MotoGP team. The team secured a pole position at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix with rider Jeremy McWilliams. TWR also returned to the British Touring Car Championship in 1994 with Volvo, achieving success with the 850 Estate and S40 models, culminating in Rickard Rydell winning the championship in 1998 driving an S40.
Throughout its history, TWR worked with a roster of prominent drivers, including Win Percy, Martin Brundle, John Watson, Armin Hahne, Steve Soper, Jeff Allam, John Goss, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Gianfranco Brancatelli, Denny Hulme, Raul Boesel, David Coulthard, Jan Lammers, Johnny Dumfries, Larry Perkins, Patrick Tambay, David Leslie, Andy Wallace, John Nielsen, Davy Jones, Alexander Wurz, Manuel Reuter, Derek Warwick, David Brabham, Michele Alboreto, Stefan Johansson, Denis Lian, and Tom Kristensen. Raul Boesel (1987), Martin Brundle (1988) and Teo Fabi (1991) each won the WSCC Driver's Championship driving for TWR-Jaguar.
[unverified] A detailed study of TWR's engineering innovations belongs to the purview of specialist automotive engineering histories, rather than this article's scope.
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